Abby Connolly
Many parents struggle with maintaining an equal balance of time their kids spend with each set of grandparents.
Although it can be amazing when every grandparent wants to be involved in their grandkids’ life, sometimes it becomes a bit of a competition.
One woman and her husband recently got into an argument over the fact that her parents get to visit with their kids more than his do. However, it has nothing to do with distance. Instead, it has to do with how his parents treat their kids.
She and her husband have a diverse blended family. He has a 16-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and she has an eight-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son from her previous marriage.
Together, they have a 5-year-old son, a 3-year-old daughter, and they recently adopted a 3-month-old baby.
Their 16-year-old daughter is mixed race. Her father is white, and her mother is Indian. She inherited many of her mom’s features, like her dark, curly hair and darker skin tone.
Her husband’s parents never liked his daughter’s mother. Even though they’re not together anymore, they still take it out on the 16-year-old. Anytime they visit, they treat her differently from the other kids.
His parents ignore her and often make snide remarks about her hair or skin.
Things got especially bad on their last visit a few months ago to see the new baby, when they brought gifts for every kid except for the teenager.
When she asked why her daughter didn’t get one, her mother-in-law said, “Well, she’s 15 now, so we thought she wouldn’t need one.”
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