Question:
What is the best way to address some poor behavior I’ve seen in my grandchildren, with my daughter and son-in-law?
Response:
It is best to mention what you have observed rather than what you suspect.
For example, rather than saying, “I think Alicia is a bully” it would be better to say that you have noticed that when she is with her friends, she gets very loud and tells them what to do and that her friends tend to respond by leaving her and telling her they don’t want to play with her anymore.
It’s normal for parents to want to defend their children so if you state your concern in the form of observed behavior, it sounds less like a criticism of your grandchild. It also provides a goal- to change the problem behavior rather than to fix the grandchild.
