In article ,
(Abi) wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering whether anyone can advise re my DH's parents -
grandparents to the baby girl I have just recently had. I find them
incredibly interfering - they keep offering unwanted advice like their
word is gospel, and seem to delight when I do something wrong. My DH
is always on the phone to them discussing problems with the baby, so
they probably think we cant handle caring for her ok. The baby is
absolutely happy and healthy and there are no real problems in my
opinion.
To make matters worse, they dont do anything with their lives other
than look after their other grandchild - almost as if this child were
their own. As a result, this child is the most spoiled kid ever. They
want to come and visit regularly, but when they do, the conversation
never goes anywhere other than children and childcare - which to be
frank is a little boring - especially over the course of a few hours.
I really dont want them taking over the care of my baby and so I am
not sure how to tactfully tell them to back off? It wouldn't be so
bad if I could enjoy their company as adult to adult, but this hasn't
been possible so far.
thanks


The best advice I got from my mother when I had my first child was about
handling advice (including hers). She said to smile and say thank you.
Then ignore it unless it was something that made sense to me. If they
persist, she suggested calling in the doctor (whether it was something
you'd actually discussed with the doctor or not), as in "My doctor says
this is the right way to do it."

Does DH know how you feel about this? If he doesn't, he needs to.

As far as where the conversation goes -- the only thing you can do is to
continue to change the subject. Ask about other things in their life,
talk about politics, whatever else interests them, and continue to
change the subject. With some folks, it doesn't work well, but you can
try.

Good luck!

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care