As poster of daughter who misused college help

I was an animal science major in college and... [2008-11-27]
my poultry professor said that fresher eggs are harder to peel. The problem is that you can't tell from the store which the older eggs are because when they expire, they just repackage them with newer dates and send them back out because they only go bad if there is a defect in the shell.

I have a 13-year-old daughter myself [2008-11-26]
And as long as it was during the day, I was home, and she stayed where I could see them I wouldn't have a problem with the boys being at the house. As for the pizza, trust your gut. I do let my daughter go to the pizza place in our town, but we live in a very small town, and I only let her go with her brothers (14&15) or with another girlfriend and I put a time limit on it. It is something that girls her age are allowed to do, unfortunately, to many of them have no limitations at all. Only you know how far you can trust your daughter.

I trust my daughter but not her friends [2008-11-26]
I think my daughter knows right from wrong and would not do anything inappropriate, but I worry about the boys. They seem to be able to do a lot more than what I allow my daughter to do... some of them are older and also they have very bad manners IMO. I wish she would find someone else to hang out with. It seems like that harder I try to change her behavior, the harder she pulls in the other direction. Are all teenaged girls like that? I guess I was too at that age, but it still worries me.

I have a 14 year old daughter also [2008-11-26]
Thankfully right now she doesn't have any boyfriends, although there are boys in the neighborhood who are friends that we've know for 13 years that she'll meet up with when the weather's decent and everyone is outside. She has amazing friends who come from good families and I trust her and them. I guess you just have to trust your children and decide how much leeway you feel you can give them. There are a couple of younger girls in the neighorhood that hang out with a whole group of older boys and just walk the streets. Those are the ones I'd worry about. Just this past year we've been letting her go to the mall with her friends alone and she has started going to parties, but she always has to go in a group and come home at a decent hour.

My oldest daughter had nothing but "boy" [2008-11-26]
friends throughout high school. Really, guys are a lot nicer than boys most of hte time. She has a couple of good girl friends, but I actually liked the guys hanging around the house. Now that she is in college, all she brings home are her guy friends and they all hang out with her and her boyfriend. I really would not worry if her friends are guys, at least she has friends she feels comfortable with having hang out at your house.

Yes. When my daughter was 13, most [2008-11-26]
of her friends were guys. Girls at that age can be quite nasty and jealous, so she wouldprefer guys over girls. She used to play Playstation a lot with guys. She is 19 now and still hangs outwith the guys. Most of the guys are her boyfriend They still play Playstation, go to McDonalds, and go to the movies. I always kept an eye on where they were though which was usually in the front yard too or in the living room. I wouldn Guys drive like nuts anyway. Now she drives with them but she is an adult now. She does most of the driving too. They all pile in her truck. I learned by her hanging out with guys at an early age as friends, it made it easier for her to communicate with men when she grew up. She understands men more because of growing up with them as boys. Maybe ask your daughter why she feels more comfortable with the guys than girls. Maybe there are girls giving her problems that she doesnone of the guys. It is a hard age though. Their feelings can get hurt very easily at that age. Good-luck.

Agree with poster below that [2008-11-20]
you need to get out of that situation, especially after reading what you son said. He is being damaged, and I have seen firsthand what that damage can do to you as an adult. Dysfunctional doesn't begin to describe it. Take action ASAP. I wish you the best of luck, I know it isn't easy.

The other poster is correct.... [2008-11-19]
I think it was on What Not To Wear or one of those shows where I heard if you have that problem it is because the cup size is not big enough for you. With that size naturally I wouldnpush up because those have a lot of extra padding to give the push. Maybe go to a store in the mall and talk to them. Surely they will have a suggestion for your size and style interest. Doesn't mean you have to buy it there, just get the idea and then go to Target or someplace and buy what you want a little less expensive.

My daughter is 14, and her favorite gift [2008-11-19]
is a gift card. We have them here that are called All Mall Gift Certificates so they can be spent at any store in the whole mall.

My daughter is and she is 15 [2008-11-18]
There is a midnight showing here on Thursday nite but she hasn't asked if she can go. I guess she knows the answer will be NO! She can wait until the weekend. I am looking for something to read now so maybe I will take a look at the book.

My daughter had the books and I read them [2008-11-18]
at 50. Absolutely love them and am going with my daughter and her friends to see it. I was disappointed after I read the last book that there were not more. I am currently also watching TrueBlood on HBO and absolutely love it. It is based on a series of 9 books and I am on book #5. Certainly would not recommend the series or books for young teens (very graphic in all aspects), but very good series. The series is not following the books, which is a little disappointing however. I only hope the Twilight movie in in line with the books.

My daughter mentioned True Blood before [2008-11-18]
but I told her no way. She's only 14. I heard about the series, but I haven't had a chance to watch it. If I had a moment to read, I'd like to read the Twilight books myself, but I just can't seem to find a minute to do any reading. My daughter is going on Friday with her Twilight school group and then again on Saturday.

My daughter (the youngest) figured it out [2008-11-11]
at about age 12 or 13 when she was awake when I put a quarter under her pillow for a tooth. She didn't let on to me, but says now (she's 17) that she extrapolated on her own that if the Tooth Fairy didn't exist, probably Santa didn't either. She says she never felt lied to, and cherishes the magic she felt back then.

My oldest daughter knew when she was 10 [2008-11-10]
Kids talk at school and on the bus, and I'm sure that's how she found out about Santa and the Easter Bunny, etc. Of course now she's 14 and tells me how could someone believe in a huge bunny who comes to your house and leaves candy. LOL. I also have a 5 year old and the older one knows under no circumstances is she to tell her sister anything. She can find out on her own. I think you should just let him know that he shouldn't tell the younger ones just like you were planning.

What kind of college degree? [2008-11-09]
I can't believe a degree would be useless!

My daughter's boyfriend's hair is the [2008-11-07]
most gorgeous long blond hair you have ever seen. It just makes me sick!!!!!!!!!

I have a 17 year old daughter, a senior. [2008-11-04]
She actually doesn't ask to be out during the school week. She's in drama club and working on college applications and homework. If she did ask, I think as long as her homework was done I'd probably let her be out until about 9:00. Her bedtime isn't until 11, but she needs the wind-down time. Weekends, it's midnight.

My daughter has a Russian Tortoise [2008-10-31]
We think it's a she, but her name is Kaos. My daughter's had her for about 5 years. She's not very big and lives in an aquariam. She's a land tortoise so no water except to drink. She eats dark green veggies and fruit. They live to be 75 years old so after we're all gone, she'll still be kicking. LOL.

I've been making a "quilt" for my daughter - [2008-10-29]
I have a hard time throwing anything away, so I have material from old clothes of all of ours, plus old sheets, curtains, a shower curtain, you get the gist- I cut them up in to approximately the same size squares. I have most of them sewn together, six across and seven or eight down (about 10-inch squares). Then I think I'll buy a bedsheet for the backing and put either batting, or more probably, because I'm cheap, an inexpensive blanket in between. What I'm doing also is embroidering pictures on each of the squares, so it's turned into a multi-year project, but it will be done before she leaves for college next fall. Really, I mean it! (I started it when she was in 6th grade).

Poster below is right -- this Saturday [2008-10-27]
Nov 1, before you go to bed, set your clocks back 1 hour. Spring forward, Fall back. Happy Halloween!!!

words you hate to hear misused, i.e., supposably [2008-10-24]
i so hate it when i hear people misusing words. maybe it it i hate it when a doctor uses the word got. (the patient has got a history of....) oh, man. also, when the word forward turns into forwards, the same with backwards. just gets me. i truly think supposably is the worst. it oh, just thought of another one: irregardless. any to add?

Since daughter travels.....sm [2008-10-22]
why not a nice set of luggage for her as well?

I saw that in the latimes. the poster didn't take that. [2008-10-18]
nm

above poster is not shellly I am [2008-10-17]
I sign my name to my posts. I actually signed off and left to make dinner. that was not me

Agree with this poster, you cannot let [2008-10-17]
this slide. Also, if he is posting pictures on the Internet, in certain parts of the country schools monitor this and they can and have taken action against the student. You need to be firm on this and definitely discuss it with his father. So what if your son is devastated by his father's reaction, in the long run it is the best for him.

Am I the Wicked Step-Mother? [2008-12-02]
I know I don't post here much but I do read and feel you are all friends. I offer prayers for those that request them and feel for those with troubles. I would like to know what you think about my latest dilemma. I came home from town today to find a phone call from my step-daughter, age 43. She has my cell phone number but for some reason she wonno this time and now I feel terrible. She started out by saying she had a medical bill to pay and then turned it around to a DUI fine that has to be paid by Jan. 1. She got picked up in August for a tail light out and had been drinking with co-workers. Her story. I was advised by the court not to help her so that was part of the reason I said no. She works two part-time waitressing jobs. She's divorced and no kids. She said she would pay me back $100 a month. If that is true why couldn't she have saved $100 a month and had the money to pay the fine? She called me a few weeks ago and I know she wanted money then but she didn't come right out and ask until today. Thanks for listening, I appreciate it.

I have cleaned my house and now I have adjustment disorder sm [2008-12-02]
I have been working on my bathroom remodel since Memorial Day. It should have taken 4 weekends and I only just finished on Thanksgiving Day. I did 95% of myself, including cutting holes for and installing, 2 sinks in the vanity. I am pleased, it is gorgeous, but that is another story. Okay, I put my bedroom back together after 6 months of being a disheveled PIT. I am cleaning the house because my daughter will be home in a couple of weeks to get married at the JP in a nearby town. I still have to make her a dress too...but I wanted the house clean for she and her fiance/husband. It is coming along very well. My problem? I can't manage a house where I am not stepping over crap on the floor, shifting stuff around so I can get to my clothes or go to bed. This is all new to me, clean floor space and no dust, a place for everything and everything in its place...I can't cope. It is clean AND tidy, the antique linens are pressed and starched, on the surfaces. IT is lovely!!!! I am depressed now. I don't adjust well to change.

These 10 things definitely ain't right: [2008-12-01]
1) MTSOs who want people with top-notch skills and experience, but don't want to pay them what that skill is worth. 2) HMO's: So-called *health-maintenance-organizations* --yet they spend every minute and every dime of their far-too-large profits on denying healthcare, meds and procedures to their patients. These organizations have ruined American healthcare, and many American lives. HMO's have been a con-game since their inception. 3) The Bailouts: Giving money to companies who can too bad for the rest of you.* Then the Big Three show up in DC to beg for a handout, and fly there in private Lear jets. My answer to them would be, *I too bad for the rest of you.* 4) Apartment managers that won't allow even a single quiet, well-behaved pet, but will rent to people with continually screaming small children, and out-of-control older children and teens. Give me the pets for neighbors, ANY day. 5) Businesses that give an age-discount to absolutely everything that walks, runs or flies, but not to the middle-aged middle-class, who need it the most. Take the ski-industry: Young children ski for next-to-nothing, and sometimes nothing. There is a Teen Discount. There is a Student Discount for college kids. There I'll probably never be old enough - it's a carrot-on-a-stick, always just out of reach.) There are even corporate (UGH) discounts. But for those in my age group, who barely make ends meet but like to go up once a year for a couple days of bliss, there is NOTHING. 6) Travel-lodging deals that are always based on double or quadruple occupancy. What about singles? NOTHING. 7) TV commercials that are about a million decibels louder than the regular shows. Why can't it all be the same volume? Same with online newscasts. THEIR commercials will blow your eardrums out if you aren't quick enough turning down the volume before they start. 8) Surround-sound: Everything is too loud, already! Why do we need it coming at us from 4 directions? Why do people living in tiny apartments feel they need it? I've lost count of how many fights I've had with neighbors over this issue. Same with movies and music concerts. Why do they feel we need to feel the music in our SPLEENS? I went to Universal Amphitheater last week. (Now named something else). There is actually a sign outside warning that the decibel level inside might damage your hearing! (?!?!?!) Why do they need this? (To avoid lawsuits, obviously). If it's so loud you have to post a warning sign outside the entrance, then DUH.... it's TOO LOUD! 9) Banks that charge you a fee to use their ATM. They (I haven't actually been INSIDE a bank in YEARS).... and they want to charge US for using the machines instead of the tellers? Forget it. I won't give those banks my business. 10) The Post Office: Talk about rewarding slow, inept performance! The worse their employees are, the longer they seem to stay there. I'd rather have a root canal than go to a P.O. during the holiday season.

The spleen can enlarge and/or rupture if [2008-12-01]
not watched. My daughter had it and though there wasn't much done, she did go back to see the doctor a couple of times.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

power trippin [2008-11-29]
I told her we could make it a $5 dollar challenge for everyone like a game, but no it has to be a regular present, just at her budget. The real truth is that last year I went to the fanciest store in the mall and bought her daughter a set of coffee cups she wanted. She was so jealous and mortified that I was making her look bad to her kid. She did not know they were on sale for $2 a set. She thought I was showing off. I thought was buying a present that was requested!

Black Friday Shopping [2008-11-28]
My husband got up really early and went to Target. He said it wasn't bad at all. He got my daughter two seasons of House on DVD and got my other daughter one of those Crayola Light Up Boards, all were on sale. Then we went out at about 9:00. We went to Kohl's, and the line, literally went around the whole store! Needless to say we didn't need anything that badly (I bet the wait was 4 hours, no kidding). Then we went to Target again and looked around (actually not very busy at all). Then we went to the Mall and got a slew of Twilight stuff for my oldest daugter and picked a few other things for my oldest. Then we ate lunch went to Walmart and just got home about 3:00. Now my husband is finishing up the Christmas decorations outside and tomorrow is tree day. I love shopping on Black Friday. And with the exception of Kohl's are wait was 5 minutes or less.

i agree not to lie, but allow the fairy tale!! [2008-11-27]
i always asked questions -- like really? you don't think there is a santa claus?? etc. Its fun for the imagination. My grown daughter now tells how she used to listen for the reindeer's footsteps on the roof -- and one night she thought she heard them!! Its a fun thing. But no, i never lied. If you EVER lie to your children, they will always question your honesty in a sensitive matter.

If you tell your kids that Santa Claus is real [2008-11-26]
I don nephew are 5 mos. old) it if they find out you lied there will be consequences and other remarks like that. We were talking the other day and without even thinking we were talking about how Uncle Joey usually dresses as Santa but this year we might want to ask his son to take over and our friends child heard our discussion. Well, she got so mad because we were insensitive to her daughter and we don Come to find out that her kids all think Santa is real. The oldest is 17, well, I So I wondered if she is lying to her children by telling them santa claus is real?

just go, forget this child play and really, really enjoy ---- [2008-11-26]
yourself without him. He'll change his tune. If you allow this behavior and kiss pratt for it - you'll have to do that whatever and whenever the whim suits him. agree with other poster - he he can't put himself aside for a couple of hours for your sake and the sake of the whole family...then it is he the problem.

Question Re: Teenagers [2008-11-26]
Would anyone here let their 13-yo daughter hang out in your front yard with 3 neighborhood boys, ages 13, 14 and 15? Also wondering what other people think about allowing a 13-yo girl to go a pizza place to hang out/have pizza with boys (no adults)? This is not something I feel comfortable with but my daughter is trying to tell me this is something other girls her age are allowed to do. What do you all think?

Hanging around your house (as long as [2008-11-26]
you are home) I do not see as a problem. My daughter is 14 and really the only place I let her go with a gruop is on church outings where I know they are supervised. She does have a male friend that hangs out here (same age) at times, but I am always around. As for hanging out at a pizza place, there are probably older kids there and I would be a little leery of that.

I have a 13-year-old daughter myself [2008-11-26]
And as long as it was during the day, I was home, and she stayed where I could see them I wouldn't have a problem with the boys being at the house. As for the pizza, trust your gut. I do let my daughter go to the pizza place in our town, but we live in a very small town, and I only let her go with her brothers (14&15) or with another girlfriend and I put a time limit on it. It is something that girls her age are allowed to do, unfortunately, to many of them have no limitations at all. Only you know how far you can trust your daughter.

Would you be worried [2008-11-26]
Would you be worried if at 13 your daughter had a lot of friends who are boys? My daughter also has a couple female friends but not around this area. I am working so I can She is downstairs in the kitchen now making lunch for the 2 neighbor boys because I told her she couldn These kids are driving me crazy today! What would you do?

I trust my daughter but not her friends [2008-11-26]
I think my daughter knows right from wrong and would not do anything inappropriate, but I worry about the boys. They seem to be able to do a lot more than what I allow my daughter to do... some of them are older and also they have very bad manners IMO. I wish she would find someone else to hang out with. It seems like that harder I try to change her behavior, the harder she pulls in the other direction. Are all teenaged girls like that? I guess I was too at that age, but it still worries me.

Hanging out at your house is a good thing [2008-11-26]
as long as you are there. My house became the hang out house, and it was hard, especially when I was trying to get my work done. But I knew where they were and could step in and keep things under control when necessary. I donrule of 16 which meant my sons could not date until they were 16 years old. Boys don't really seem to fight this so much. My oldest didn't have a steady girlfriend until he was 18. My youngest was 17 when he first started dating. I also had problems with some of their friends being just plain rude. They'd swear, never say please or thank you, and just generally act like snotty brats at times. That wasn't a problem for me. I corrected them and taught them manners. I used humor, which again boys seem to respond to. Usually, when we had girls over who acted that way, the boys were quick to correct them, and I didn't have to step in myself. As far as going out, my boys did go out to hang at the local pizza parlor in mixed groups when they were 13. I never had a problem, but they were held to time limits. I think itYou know, I Good luck!

See inside [2008-11-26]
My daughter (now 19) has always had more guy friends than girls mostly because she does not care for the drama and backstabbing that many teenage girls engage in. What I would take into account is how your daughter acts around these boys--how does she dress (my daughter is an athlete--no low-cut shirts, short skirts, etc) and what are her mannerisms (too flirty or just chillin as friends) or do you see something more--watch the behavior. Have always welcomed all kids to hang out at my house--even though it has driven up my food bill--because I feel that way I know what they're doing, hear how they are acting/talking (they can forget you are around the corner), and I get to know who they are hangin with. As time goes by you can get to know who a lot of the kids are in your town including siblings and parents--have always made it a point to network, network, network--soccer games, helping in school, etc. Always offer to drive too--they will also sometimes forget you have ears up there in the driver's seat. I like to remind my kids that they don't know who I know so they should keep that in mind when out in public because you never know what could get back to me.

My oldest daughter had nothing but "boy" [2008-11-26]
friends throughout high school. Really, guys are a lot nicer than boys most of hte time. She has a couple of good girl friends, but I actually liked the guys hanging around the house. Now that she is in college, all she brings home are her guy friends and they all hang out with her and her boyfriend. I really would not worry if her friends are guys, at least she has friends she feels comfortable with having hang out at your house.

I have the opinion that as long as they [2008-11-26]
are at my house then I know what is going on. My daughter has no problem whatsoever having people hang at the house and, like I said, I would much rather know where they are and what they are doing then out just wherever.

Yes. When my daughter was 13, most [2008-11-26]
of her friends were guys. Girls at that age can be quite nasty and jealous, so she wouldprefer guys over girls. She used to play Playstation a lot with guys. She is 19 now and still hangs outwith the guys. Most of the guys are her boyfriend They still play Playstation, go to McDonalds, and go to the movies. I always kept an eye on where they were though which was usually in the front yard too or in the living room. I wouldn Guys drive like nuts anyway. Now she drives with them but she is an adult now. She does most of the driving too. They all pile in her truck. I learned by her hanging out with guys at an early age as friends, it made it easier for her to communicate with men when she grew up. She understands men more because of growing up with them as boys. Maybe ask your daughter why she feels more comfortable with the guys than girls. Maybe there are girls giving her problems that she doesnone of the guys. It is a hard age though. Their feelings can get hurt very easily at that age. Good-luck.

I can tell you they are defiant at that [2008-11-26]
age. If I were to tell my daughter to make her bed or clean up the house, she argued. Then when I changed my tune and said be a slob if you want and acted like I didn They really test you at that age. Now that I look back though, I realize there was never a dull moment and I miss those days. You have to keep thinking unconditional love to get you through the rough times with your kids.

Try to work an earlier shift. Your [2008-11-26]
daughter should be able to keep herself busy with homework, chores, etc, until you get done working. Then when you aren You don She will just have to understand. But I would let her have her time with her friends when you are off. It will be less distracting for you and you won't have to jump up to see what is going on.

I'm with the other mother... [2008-11-25]
If you don't like your grandkids, don't baby sit. I have a child, whom I think is wonderful. I resent anyone telling me that I am not parenting the way they would. You raised your kids and it is time to let your daughter do the same. I am sure that she is not trying to ruin her children. How would you have felt if this criticism were coming to you instead of from you?

wearing your heart on your sleeve [2008-11-25]
I too have spent too much time thinking about this. From your post, your description of your daughter's intelligence and your own dismay at the rudeness of these people, I can only come to one conclusion.....You are hanging around people less intelligent than you are. Not figuratively, but IQ. You are sensitive, they are obtuse. However, I have also discovered that the people who use a simple hello as currency to give or take away, are broke. The worst snobs in my neighborhood are broke and don't want anyone to know. They try to hide their financial status, but you don't so you are scary. I have been treated the worst by the mean and stupid. Think about what a breath of fresh air your daughter is to that little boy. I am glad you went to the party.

nest of vipers [2008-11-25]
Your family deserves better friends. It sounds like the boy is already a clone of his materialistic parents & is not a good influence on your daughter. Get away now & start your own group of solid, level-headed, smart, low-impact-living, Nintendo-less do-it-yourself-ers. You don't need these idiots. Here are a couple of interesting links: http://www.lewrockwell.com/westley/westley17.html http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_tveffect.shtml