Family dynamics can be tricky – especially when it comes to imposing rules on a relative’s kids.
This is the situation one woman has found herself in, after her sister, Kat, was in a bad car accident – resulting in her looking after her niece, Mae, a fair amount.
The woman has taken to Reddit to ask whether she’s being unreasonable for implementing a certain rule with her niece.
Her post reads: ‘Kat was in a bad car accident recently and has a few months of recovery ahead of her. She’s mostly bed bound at the moment but she is home and expected to make a full recovery
‘I end up taking Mae on Saturdays and occasional Sundays.’
However, the issue comes down to the fact that the woman think her sister has been too lenient on eight-year-old Mae.
‘I feel Kat is too permissive with Mae and it’s led to her being spoiled,’ the post continues.
‘She’s not too bad, she is a sweet kid but she’s also very entitled and a strong believer of “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is also mine” and tends to get pushy and mean if she doesn’t get her way.’
This means that when Mae comes to stay with her aunt (the poster), her uncle, and the six-year-old daughter Ava (Mae’s cousin), there are some issues.
‘The girls have known each other for over half their lives by now and I’ve seen this play out over and over before,’ the post continues.
‘They get along well most of the time and Ava has been very good about sharing her things but gets frustrated when Mae brings her Switch or American girl doll over and then doesn’t let her play – so she, in turn, refuses to share too and then Mae has a fit.
‘This has become more frequent. Kat’s always said “well she doesn’t have to share her things” and sure but neither does Ava and we’ve all seen what happens when she doesn’t. And Kat dismisses it every time. Of course Ava doesn’t want to share when that happens, she’s old enough to see that Mae isn’t fair to her but she can’t understand why.’
This has resulted in the poster and her husband saying Mae can’t bring her toys when she comes to stay with them – a decision that hasn’t gone down well with her sister.
‘Kat is furious and has been calling to tell me how unfair we are,’ adds the poster, which prompts her to ask Reddit if she’s being unreasonable.
Most people seem to agree with the poster, with one person saying: ‘You are not required to cater to entitled behavior. It’s your home, your rules.’
And another adding: ‘I think your approach on the toys was a good one. What kind of mom teaches their kid it’s OK to not share.’
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