Parenting In a Joint Family

:rolleyes:
Yup it was so a matter of time before I authored this thread.

So as all you know
the whole tabar lives with me and I’m having issues with getting to much advice from everywhere. God has his ways of showing us small miracles because I actually had a month with my child all alone. So we’ve really bonded alhumdolillah and we know each other.

Now the grandparents are back in to the picture and screwing with our whole schedule.

Examples:

baby is teething; the mother insists I feed him he’s not hungry he’s in pain.
Let me massage and bathe him that works.

my mother watches me bathe him- that mommy and kid time. She needs not be there.

Now I’ve done the obvious and talked to her about it.
The reaction wasn’t a pleasant one. She thinks I’m a bafoon and totally need her help.

I need help for sure but not with Baby with setting boundaries with my mother!!!
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Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

Sometimes it's very annoying to be living in a tabbar with a baby but that shall pass too.

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

I love your posts in this forum, I think they will be helping others in future...if you know what I mean ;)

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

So I just have to live with it.
I think if there is one more thing that I just have to live with - I'm gonna burst.
literally

i got a great piece of advice from an aunt of mine..she said take everything with a grain of salt. so pretty much, just let 'em say what they wanna say, and at the end of the day, do what you think is best for the baby.

and yes, that probably sounds selfish and what not, but it's your baby and you know baby best. now of course that doesn't mean that if someone offers a sound piece of advise, you don't take it..but sometimes with desi parents they tend to offer their 'desi' points of view of things they did when you were a baby and they don't match with with we've learned and been taught.

and with your mom interferring with bath time with baby, i'd tell her straight up that you would like to be alone. i know sometimes it's hard to do, but you gotta start sometime.

good luck!

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

How about I put the baby in a :buzz off: shirt
:hehe:

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

for me its very annoying if someone interfers unless i ask for it! but then i dont live with the whole tabar so cannot judge how i would have reacted, but i can only say ....

u will learn from ur mistakes more than advice from outside.

so tell ur mom she should only give advice when u ask for it as then u will allways be dependentt on her advice, tell her u want to learn on ur own, as if u were living alone and that of course they are grandparents, but its enough if they sometimes play with him but they should let u do the upraising and the parenting.

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

I feel your pain, I've had the same problems from day one but with mil instead of mom. The constant interference made me crazy. If you say something they get mad and defensive telling you they raised their own children so they know what they're doing. If you don't say anything they take control and make you feel like you don't have any role as a mom except following orders. :(

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

old women need a hobby

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

Munz, it’s funny how moms have raised their children and now want to raise ours :D. It’s a control thing and also the fact that they want to feel needed and acknowldeged as being more superior in experience and knowledge. At any given point, they would like to tell you that they know more than you.

So, having said that, yes perhaps they do know more because they did raise us and we turned out fine. But the thing is that times have changed. Like putting warm oil in a child’s aching ear may actually damage their eardrum and try telling your American doctor that you did that :faizy:. They’ll probably have you taken by authorities for tring to mess with your child! Some things cannot be practiced the same way and also, we too need our own time to learn and grow with our experiences and most importantly develop a private and personal bond.

Unfortunately, there is no way for you to tell them this. A third person must come into the picture. For example, sometimes my mom is overbearing with my sister’s style of parenting. Well these days my mom lives with my sister temporarily as her husband’s been away on a year long study program abroad. So my sister called me to share her frustration and what I did is talked to my mom in a way that didn’t seem like my sister has been complaining but I dug deep where my mom herself blurted out some negatives. That way I was able to advise my mom on how to give my sister space and understand that it’s her son and she could get overwhelmed with your advice. So my mom was like, why, I’m just trying to help and all, but I tried explaining to her that let her have the first say so that way she’s happy and in turn you’re happy.

Things have gotten better now. So the moral of the story is, have your friend or brother or someone who has been observing all this talk to your ma.

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I imagien it’d be more worse/annoying if in a susral. Cant exactly tell your MIL to buzz off.

:bummer:

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

When you have your first child, you get tons of "free" advice from everyone everywhere. It used to drive me insane. It must be so much worse when you actually have to live with advisors! But you will eventually become more accepting of it...say aha, acha ok and go about your business without a second thought. I think its a process that every new mom has to go thru. A rite of passage lol. Perhaps its meant to be that way because as moms we really need to develop thick skins!!

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Damn that must be hard.....esp if ur saas advises u over every small issue already!

I think ppl who give you sincere advice would be your well wisher. Yes they might interfare you in your and child bonding but they all do that do to love.

I haven't seen a single one who said that they do that due to love not to bother you. It's better for both I mean mom and her child to take advice from an experienced person.

I think you guys don't understand our parents love to our kids more than us. They all do that due to love. I don't know why you guys don't like advice from mom or MIL.

Niki didi gram tail kaan kay parday naheen pharti lol. They have logics and that work too but as you don't know so you don't understand.

I always use to ask my mom why you do this and that and what are the reasons and she use to tell me and most of the time I use to think what might be reason as sometimes she wasn't able to tell what was the reason behind doing that as she didn't ever asked her parents what they did and why. So I use to think myself. Somtimes I explained her why they do that.

As my mom was expert in telling which child the lady is going to have after looking at the lady's belly and she use to tell her father use to give some water with sura mariam and something to put on the navel and something during the labour and that process become easy and quick but she didn't learn and haven't ask that.

Niki didi agar kaan main keera chala jaay ya mail nikalna ho to neem garam tail bohat kar amad hota hai aur bohat asan bhi yeah I checked it. It sure work. You can clean your ears by putting tail in your ears no need of cotton but and spend your time. Tail will bring mail and even kill a keera makora in your to ease you.

Mothers know everything from their experience so I would be happy if any mother (Mother or MIL) give advice.

She might not like your way of up bringing but that might be because of the love and experience so don't be bothered by her. You are lucky you got so caring mom.

They without the knowledge and education brought us up way more better than us. There is no comparision.

Don't get mad take it easy. If you don't want to follow don't do. But listen to them and say ok to make her happy.

Sometimes their way can bother you. But you know quran says bardasht karain aur us ka ajar pain akhrat main aur dunia main.

Jub aap kay buchchay aap ki baton pay is tarha karain gay to aap ko samajh aay ga kay wo ghalat kartay hain kay sahi.

Let them do something too to make them happy and to bond with your child.

Don't get irritated.

As my mom told pehlay zamanay kay buchchon ko nani daadi paala karteen theen ziadatar shayad is liaay maaoon ka bhi dil karta ho ga kay wo palain.

Re: Parenting In a Joint Family

Thanks everyone...

heera -- they do have time with the baby.
But you have to understand to stand over me when I bathe my son and every two minutes say wash it this way and that way. They can happily take thier place as grandparents and let me be parents. Obviously when there is soemething I need help with I'll run ot my mother.

LOL...let her bathe your son. This way she will be happy and you will get free time. Still you would get enough time. for you and son.

Yeah I know that is frustating but you know when you can't help it let her do it. Or make her busy in doing something else for your baby at that time. or always keep her in you son's thing.

Let her do everything for your son and you have a break or free time.

My sister use to let her do everything for her son. My bhabhi let her do everything for her all the kids so they got a lot of free time.

1 thing is for sure they do it out of love and they can't understand that it frustrate you. My bhabhi and sister was happy when she use to do things for their kids.

Get yourself a free time by letting her do things. Involve her in your kids work when you bathe your son like let her do in his or your room.

Keep her involved in his work.

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Please don't confuse the kid. Let the mom of the kid do the work, the parenting, the upraising, as then it will have one person to go to and not tons of ppl, which will only confuse the kid. I have seen moms, there is one example in my husband's family, where the mom would let the MIL do the work of the kid, so that she can have 'free time' and now what the kid is more attached to the MIL, he listens/respects to his grandmom more than his own mom.

I dont understand such moms, who for their free time, let others do the work of the kid, i mean why have kids then if u cannot handle them in the first place. Kids will be small only once and the satisfaction u get doing the work of ur kid is just out of this world and I would never let anyone else do it, even if its my own mom.

Buchchay hamaisha maan kay hi hotay hain khuwaah unko koi paalay ya wo kisi say attach ho jain wo sub waqti aur kuch arsay kay liaay hota hai.

Jo buchchay maan ki naheen suntay wo is wajah say naheen kay wo attach hain MOM ya MIL say balkay aap ka sulook buchchon say sahi naheen.

Kids don't get confused. They love all.

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U say kids don't get confused, well yes they do, I have seen enough of such examples.

That not might be because of mother or mIL parenting but due to different reason whoever was parenting wasn't teaching the right things.