Dear Snarky,
I am this close to punching my sister-in-law! We just got back from a family reunion and all she did was correct every child’s behavior but her own. She even went so far as to pull up parenting books from Amazon on her phone telling us we should read them to “get our kids under control.” Meanwhile her 3 less than perfect children, when they weren’t bullying their cousins, were fighting with their parents.
It was awful. Please help me get this woman under control.
Signed, Family Feud
Dear Family,
The only way to deal with someone who loves to dispense advice is to fight fire with fire. Sure, you could do the whole turn the other cheek thing, but all that will do is give your sister-in-law permission to keep on being the family authority of child rearing and who wants that?
So, I suggest at the next family get together you come locked and loaded with your own advice. And just don’t resort to pulling up parenting books on your iPhone. That’s for amateurs. What you want to do is up the visual aid ante and come with handouts.
That’s right girlfriend, load up your purse with print outs from the Internet on how to deal with kids who bully and parents who allow it. When your sister-in-law starts pointing out your kids’ faults you reach into your purse and say, “Hey I saw this and thought of you.”
I can’t guarantee this will shut her down, but it will serve notice that two can play this game and you’re going to play it better.
If you have a question for Dear Snarky email me at snarkyinthesuburbs@gmail.com
Snarky in the Suburbs 