Dear Snarky,
I would love your advice about what to when it seems like you’ve adopted an extra kid for the summer. I have a 10-year-old child (My across the street neighbor.) who shows up at my door before 9 in the morning and stays until I kick him out which is usually after dinner. The kid is a good boy. My children enjoy his company and I do not want to hurt his feeling, but I’m not the free babysitter for the neighborhood.
Signed, Allison
Dear Allison,
I feel your pain. One summer I had a nine-year old boy who camped out at my house everyday. He was a charmer and I enjoyed his company, truth be told more than my own children, because this kid really seemed to appreciate me. I knew things had gotten a little out of control when he started jotting down things on my grocery list and making dinner suggestions. This is when I had to institute some boundaries. He had to call and ask if he could come over instead of just showing up at my door and when he did come over I would tell him how long he could stay. I also talked with his mom and suggested summer day camps to help keep her boy busy. She, at first, didn’t see a need for them, since I’m thinking she thought my house was his summer camp, but I gently informed her that the days of her kid spending every waking hour at my house was coming to an end. She got the message and her delightful child still came over a lot but only when he was invited.
I hope this helps and if it doesn’t you can always have him pitching in on the family chores. I’m sure a few days of scrubbing toilets, unloading the dishwasher and pulling weeds might change his mind about your home being the “fun house.”
Snarky in the Suburbs 