Keeping Parenting Peace With Your In-Laws

Betcha can’t figure out just how I might have stumbled on this little goldmine of advice?!?!

I know there are times when many mom’s feel extremely alone or as if they are living in an isolated case of clash of the in-laws, but this family and marital issue is as old as marriage itself.

As best I can tell, and I could be wrong, this is most common with the mother’s of the husbands – where the problems do actually exist.

I have to admit, I have a wonderful relationship with my EX in-laws and know just how lucky I am when it comes to them. I try to remember to tell them often how special they are and how much their respect, consideration and ongoing support is to me.

The new(er) in-laws on the other hand, challenge me in ways I never thought of being challenged.

Earlier in the week, I wrote about my broken blended family and while it’s certainly broken, it’s not beyond repair – as this week has shown. We’ve had a great deal of family discussion – mostly initiated by the kids who want this family thing to work out. The one thing we all agree upon is the constant interference of the grandmother/mother/mother-in-law has driven a wedge between this family and has nearly shattered it beyond repair.

We’ve developed a plan that we hope to test over the next six months or so – to see if what’s broken can be fixed. The effort we will use as the solid adhesive that will hold the pieces together is to place the opposing forces that be in the position of either respecting us as the blended family we are or exiting our lives – period!

There will be no more of this enabling those efforts that are weighing so heavily on this family – there will be no more segregating the children in a way that is unacceptable to our family – there will be no more just stopping in uninvited and there will certainly be no criticizing our efforts to deal with the mental illness, depression and anxiety we struggle with daily. If people aren’t willing to attend the same groups we do to understand the illnesses and then we certainly have the right to refuse their input on how to deal and live with those conditions.

I can’t say how things will work out – I can’t say I’m making the wisest decisions at this time, but I can say I’m making decisions that will allow me to lay my head down at night knowing I’ve given it my very best.