Jennifer - posted on 03/05/2012 ( 20 moms have responded )
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I try not to judge others on they way they raise their children. Unless you are abusing your child or negelcting them, there really is no right or wrong way. We all have our own opinions on what to do. I may be a little stricter than some parents, but at the same time, my kids are allowed to be kids and make mistakes. My sister in law and her husband on the other hand take an extreeme approach in the other direction. Their children are rarely disciplined (if ever) and they let them make choices when I as a parent would step in with my own kids and say no, this is what it is going to be (like bed time, getting a bath, going to church, or other important daily activities along those lines.) My nephews have always been allowed to eat whatever they wanted. For the most part they don't eat fruit or veggies (except for a select few) and sometimes my sister in law can cook 2-3 different meals before they will agree to eat one. This drives me nuts for the simple fact that I know they aren't getting the kind of nutrition their bodies need to grow healthy, but I don't have any say. The part that drives me the most insane is the fact that if I have a meal at my house for a birthday or special occasion, they will bring McDonalds or whole pizzas in for their kids to eat, so that they don't have to eat what ever I'm cooking. I wanted to blow up the last time about a month ago. I was having a birthday party for my 4 year old. I always let my kids pick the menu for their birthday. For this occasion, my son wanted pancakes, cooked apples, sausage, and biscuits with gravy. Of course my son was happy with his choice, but then in walks my almost 10 year old nephew with a large pizza and of course instantly my kids are asking for pizza instead of the meal I spent a couple hrs prepareing! Then my nephew proceeds to tell me more than once that he doesn't like my meal, and then tells my kids several times about how he is going to eat pizza. My husband spoke up and told my nephew to knock it off, but still I felt so bad for my kids. My kids know that if there is a meal and they are hungry, they better eat, because there isn't going to be any substitutions. I have 4 kids and we live on a tight budget. I can't afford to cook 2-3 meals at one time and have food go to waste. My children also know that if we are at someones house, and the person offers something they don't like, a simple no thank you is all that needs to be said. They don't need to tell the person over and over about how they don't like their meal. Yesterday, my other sister in law had a meal for her son's birthday. Yet again, my other 2 nephews had to have their own pot of spaghetti made, because they refused the lasagna that was there. It just makes me so mad. They do this every single get together. I think it is really unfair to my kids who may want pizza or mcdonalds, but know it is rude to eat something else when somone has spent so much time preparing a meal. We've tried to say something to my sister in law and she just laughs it off and says "well, they won't eat anything else and they can't go hungry". I just don't know what to do anymore. One of these days I'm going to explode and it won't be pretty!!! Anyone have any suggestions PLEASE
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