Treating Kids the Same

There was some article somewhere Tabitha was reading about a woman, who has a child from a previous relationship, who married a man who also has a kid from a past parallel.

The woman was asking advice.

Apparently she has noticed her husband and his parents treating the kids differently. Her kid is largely ignored while his kid is spoiled and given all the attention.

When the wife brought it to her husband’s attention he said he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

I didn’t read the article, so I don’t know all the details, but that’s the gist of it.

Then Tabitha sat up in the bed and said,

“We are so lucky. Sometimes I read something and think about just how lucky we are. You have always treated Travis and Chloe well and your parents, even before Harrison and Mara were born, have always treated them like their own grandkids.”

A couple thoughts came to mind.

First, that’s just a testament to my parents and the type of people they are. I’m sure they’ve never given it a second thought.

Second, you might want to address that stuff before you get married.

Third, how can you treat kids that way in a blended family? The kid is an outcast because he’s from a different relationship? That’s why you ignore him? But, wait, your kid somehow isn’t? What?

Fourth, as a parent or grandparent, even if you don’t want anything to do with ‘that other child’ wouldn’t you have some sort of obligation to human decency to at least pretend that you do? Wouldn’t you just chalk it up to being one of those things in life you have to do that you don’t want to, suck it up, and be a decent human being about it? The kid has done nothing wrong, and frankly neither has his or her parent.

Get over your uppity self.

Fifth, thank god Tabitha said I have always treated Travis and Chloe the same. Sometimes I lay in bed at night worried I spend too much time with the little ones and not enough with the older kids.

I’m sure this sort of thing is happening all over the world, I echo Tabitha’s sentiments in how lucky we are.

We have enough to deal with, I’m glad preferential treatment from Grandparents isn’t one of them.

My mom called me just the other day and said “Now Chloe’s birthday is coming up, I’ll need some ideas.”

Her birthday is May 12th. She’s already thinking about it.

We are very lucky.