Reply to How TF should I have answered this?

Forum Index » Family Relationships

Reply to "How TF should I have answered this?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My brother and his wife had a baby six months ago. We live in the same city. They're both successful and rich and lawyers. I'm poor and unsuccessful and thought of pathetically by them.

They bemoan all the time how they have no family nearby for their baby. My brother talks all the time about how they don't have anyone to babysit, even though I spent from age 12 to about 35 babysitting part time. Even though my SIL's 30 yr old little sister is currently living with them. Even though they have a full-time nanny who has plainly told them she wants as many hours as possible (bro told me this, SIL confirmed). They talk about how shitty it is that some family members don't take an interest in the baby - how when my parents visited they held her for two seconds, etc.

I try to see her about once a month. Yesterday on the phone with my brother, I mentioned I'd like to see her. He said, "What would you do with her?" Huh? I mean, she's a baby. I'd poke her in the belly and make her laugh. He said, "She's not the pillbury dough boy. I don't want you poking my daughter." Way to take a joke. So I said I'd play with her, read her books, take her to swing at the park, etc. He kept asking though, "What would you play with her?"

It's a BABY! You just follow their lead. You sing them songs and play with their hands and show them things and talk to them. It's not like I can say "Well first we'll play Candyland and then move on to Monopoly."

Is there some other, better answer that would have satisfied a normal parent, or is my brother just once again, letting me know he thinks very little of my competence even in the area of playing with a normal, happy six month old?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics