wdyt?

hmonkey

i heard this (stupid) story from a friend this weekend.

mom & dad have a toddler, sophie.  sophie spends the day in the family room, which is baby-gated from the rest of the house.  she goes to her bedroom to sleep, and is out in the rest of house when mom and dad are there to carry her around and supervise her, but she pretty much spends all her time in the family room.  sophie is mobile -- walking, talking and all that.

grandma and grandpa think this is incredibly stupid for toddler, and have had numerous discussions with mom and dad about how sophie should be allowed to go elsewhere in the house, if for no other reason than to alleviate boredom.  mom and dad say, my kid, my house, my rules.  sophie is allowed to run free in grandma and grandpa's house, by that same logic.

for her birthday. grandpa and grandma spent the day with sophie.  as a gift, they taught her how to open the baby gate.

do you think grandma and grandpa overstepped their bounds?
or do you think mom and dad should be allowed to keep the kid wherever they want?

nicoleg1982

Grandma and Grandpa deserve a junkpunch.  Not their kid, not their job to parent.  Regardless of whether or not I agree with the living room cage system.

arbolita

I think that definitely oversteps some boundaries - because where are the grandparents going to be when Sophie opens up her babygate and goes headfirst down some stairs?

NOLABridesmaid

Yes.

mrsconn23

Wrong, wrong, wrong of the grandparents to teach Sophie how to open the gate.  I do not understand why the eff they care so much. 

baconsmom

Grandparents are WAY out of line. My house, my kid, my rules, even when you think those rules are stupid. 

hmonkey

well, apparently they care because the kid has been confined to the family room for most of her life.  she's like three or something.

i think grandma and grandpa think it's neglect or something.

i actually wonder if mom and dad have even bothered to babyproof the rest of the house because the kid has always been in the one room.

Anasara

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_wdyt-39?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:4e6ff159-c507-4a4c-bb05-e84a2f96cd18Post:6bbe1731-b591-4e55-b74b-58b633bf5294">Re: wdyt?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yes.
Posted by NOLABridesmaid[/QUOTE]
Ditto.

**O-Face**

Gma and Gpa need to step off.

mrsconn23

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_wdyt-39?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:4e6ff159-c507-4a4c-bb05-e84a2f96cd18Post:2bd42eb3-0303-4a4a-8c00-2b63d3170aac">Re: wdyt?</a>:
[QUOTE]well, apparently they care because the kid has been confined to the family room for most of her life.  she's like three or something. i think grandma and grandpa think it's neglect or something. i actually wonder if mom and dad have even bothered to babyproof the rest of the house because the kid has always been in the one room.
Posted by hmonkey[/QUOTE]

If I have a child, itwill probably spend 90% of it's life in the family room as well.  We don't have that big of a house and the family room is where we spend most of our time anyway.   I will probably gate off the kitchen and close the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms so that I can keep an eye on the kid, especially once it's mobile.

I mean, do they never take the kid out to play?  How big is their house?

Paulo's Menina Bela

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_wdyt-39?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:4e6ff159-c507-4a4c-bb05-e84a2f96cd18Post:ff6cc55a-4510-423b-bc21-d1b5d88521a6">Re: wdyt?</a>:
[QUOTE]Grandparents are WAY out of line. My house, my kid, my rules, even when you think those rules are stupid. 
Posted by baconsmom[/QUOTE]


Ditto

DG1

agreed. 

Though I'm really curious how this kid hasn't figured otu the baby gate already. She's 3? 

And what does this family room look like?  It could well be a very large room full of toys and other stimulating things.  Dex stays in his daycare classroom for 90% of the time he's there, but it's huge, has a climbing toy, tons of books and other educational and just plain fun stuff.  They also eat in there.  Not necessarily a bad thing.

hmonkey

ha!  i just realized that i phrased both questions to stack the deck against grandma and grandpa.

i have no idea if the kid goes out of the house or anything.  i vaguely know mom, and it wouldn't surprise me if the kid spends all day watching tv in the family room, nor would it surprise me if the kid is outside or in playgroups all day and goes to the family room to collapse from all the activity.

mrsconn23

Irregurd...The grandparents were way out of line.

I just don't understand why this is a hill they want to die on.  I can tell you that if my parents pulled something like this, it would be a long time before they'd ever see my child alone. 

*Barbie*

i think the grandparents are out of line - i'm with the whole, "my kid, my house, my rules" no matter how dumb anyone else thinks they are.