[GGG]

Originally Posted by Buff

Everybody has different methods of disciplining their children. Most specifically parents allow their kids to get away with more or less than other parents. This is fine, to an extent.

My wife and I are constantly getting frustrated with how much/little her siblings discipline their kids (or in some cases how they do it). When we have family gatherings kids are going to have fun and get a bit wild, we accept that. However our oldest kid can get worked up quite a bit and usually we have to discipline him but only because one of his cousins was doing something to get him worked up that also needs to be disciplined. My brother in law thinks kids will be kids and to just let them be, and my sister in law is just oblivious to anything happening outside of 2 inches from herself. So we find ourselves disciplining our kid because his cousin's parents won't watch their own kids. My sister-in-laws idea of watching kids in a family gathering is to assume one of the other adults is doing it. My brother-in-law (different couple) just sits back and either shouts his kids names or says "Please don't" or both. Yeah, thats going to stop them.

My wife's parents often think we should just let our kids be and that we are too strict, yet on the same hand they always commend our kids for being so much more behaved. Our kids are awesome kids and very well behaved except when around kids who we believe could use a little more discipline.

Not saying our kids are angels and only misbehave around their cousins, because it happens with anothers as well, but it is just frustrating to have to discipline your kids because the other kids parents aren't doing their jobs.

Next week's rant: Parents who have to chip in when you are disciplining your kid (aka the over the shoulder discipliners).

This occurs in my family but what happened in the end is the more strict person ended up looking out for all of the kids at the family gathering because she would get upset about the more free standards of other parents. The other parents are supportive of the more strict person in that if she tells their kids not to to something the kids have to listen and cannot play one relative against the other.

In the end in my opinion you have to have your own standards for your own kids and ensure your kids live up to them. And the correlary to that is you have to let other people have their own standards for their kids even if they make you uncomfortable.