re: Dealing with parents/in laws that try to supersede you with your kids

Keep in mind, your parents or in-laws are not your enemy. They love their grandchildren and you/your spouse.

You might be frustrated with this right now, but you'll be a grandparent one day as well. And you can say "I won't be like that" but chances are you will.

You know what a blessing children are to you as a parent, but they are equally a blessing, in some cases larger, to a grand parent.

Another thing, grandparents realize they are on the other side of life and they relish their time left with grands.

I grew up poor. Very poor. I can rant on what we didn't have but what we did have were two equally poor grandmothers who would have died for us and tried to do what they could for us. We mainly helped them. But they would beat our arse as badly as our parents if we screwed up yet defend us as well.

My daughter is constantly on my butt for overdoing it with my grands. But I try to give them things I never had. I don't want them getting made fun of at school for wearing "poor people" clothing.

I want them to have a nice bike, nice things and try to relieve the financial burden on my children and their spouses that it would take to do these things.

Don't be an arse, you'll later regret it.