Having your extended family to stay over at Christmas can sometimes cause tension. You're not used to being around them for such a long period of time, and sometimes they may have different ideas about different things, such as parenting.
One woman took to Mumsnet to jokingly say she wanted to 'slap' her mother-in-law because of the way she'd behaved throughout the Christmas period, critiquing her parenting skills and 'not offering to help with anything'. She even pointed out that she's not 'even offered to cook one meal or helped wash up in her whole time here', stating she was 'sick of it'.
She wrote: "My mother-in-law has been staying with us since the 18th and isn't leaving until Monday as she lives in the UK so it is a long way to come (we live abroad).
"Frankly, she has been nothing but difficult since the day she arrived (3 days early!) and has spent the entire time critiquing my parenting skills whilst not offering to help with anything, she has not even offered to cook one meal or help wash up in her whole time here and I am thoroughly sick of it.
"My husband is out at work most days as he's a doctor so it is left up to me to host her as I'm a stay-at-home mum and I am sick to the back teeth of her.
"Naturally, my husband thinks she's amazing and can do no wrong as he is a proper mummy's boy but he does not hear the rude way in which she speaks to me. What should I do to address this as my husband won't listen to me when I complain to him and I can't have this again."
People were quick to say that next year, they shouldn't accommodate his mother-in-law if she's going to behave in a cruel way.
Someone fumed: "She stays in a hotel next time or your husband takes off the whole time she’s here and he hosts her. Have you actually told her to wind her neck in yet?"
"Go out and leave her to babysit!", another suggested.
One Mumsnetter raged: "Record her on your phone and playback to your husband as no doubt she is sweetness and light when he's around...show him the real darling mummy."
Another stated that wasn't appropriate, saying: "If you don't want to say anything about it or actually do anything about it like go away yourself/refuse to put her up, then you'll just have to get used to it and put up with it.
"No other way really. Going around secretly recording her is ridiculous and game-playing."
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
