Drinking After Other People

Susan,
I was raised the same way you were taught not to drink after anyone, so I understand your dilema. However I am not very voiceful but my husband is so he speaks up and dosent mind much about hurting feelings. How does your husbnad feel about it have you spoken to him and letting him know how you feel, maybe he can say something. If not you;ll have to say something becuae they are your children and its your job as a parent to protect them by any means necessary. Ofcourse be very polite but if they get offended then unfortunatley there isnt much you can do about that,. Try saying in a nice way that you are teaching the children about their personal health and hygiene and you dont; want to send the wrong message to them about drinking after someone, not even yourself. I'm sure they may respond positive, you know them.. good luck...

well this can be a sticky situation, you don't want to hurt other people's feelings but you want to teach your children about health issues. if this is something that truly bothers you and you aren't able to let go of it, just simply as polite as possible, explain to your in- laws that you are trying to teach your children about good health, and personal hygiene, and one of the things that you are trying to establish is not to drink, eat, etc. after people to help keep germs under control. if they act like they are offended, explain to them that some people can be carriers for the common cold and never actually get it themselves, but can pass it on, and that you are not trying to offend, just teach your children not to do that, so that when they are in school they don't do it after another child, and end up getting sick. That you just want to establish this kind of behavior before it has a chance to become a problem later on. Hopefully they should understand.
Hopes this helps you some. good luck !

Hi Susan =) My opinion is that it's not a big deal. I share drinks w/ my kids & husband. I look at it like " their my kids & they got my dna running through them". And their grandparents share also. I grew up in a family that did share drinks, opposite from you. But I was also taught to ask first. But I dont share chewed food...that's kinda gross lol. If it bothers you that much, I would say something politely, especially if you feel that strongly about it. And as far as teaching kids about germs, my 3 1/2 still doesn't understand. No matter how many times I tell her something is nasty! Hope this helps...good luck.

I had that same problem with my daughter's aunts on her dad's side letting her drink after them. I just told them that i dont want her to do that because i dont want her getting in the habit of drinking after people when she starts going to school. Because kids have a lot of germs. That way they wont think that u are insulting them or directing the comment towards them

Please for your children's sake; be their advocate, be firm, be clear, and tell your in-laws simply: We do not share drinks with each other. Then offer to get your child a drink of their own. You may have to repeat yourself a few times before it sinks in, and you will not be able to stop them from sharing behind your back so to speak, but you will have made it clear. There are several reasons not to share drinks with children. Their immune system is not as strong and has not had a chance to develop antibodies to common viruses that circulate in adults. You can google a few, such as enterovirus, CMV, and herpes. And that's just a sample. Maybe it's because I am a nurse, maybe I think too much, but I do not share drinks in my household, and I do not allow anyone to share drinks with my children, period. I don't care if I hurt anyone's feelings, because that person will not suffer through my child's cold or virus - my child will. If I can prevent it, I am going to. Speak up, lady! ;)))

This is a hard subject to deal with. I have had the same problems with my family who once tried to chew food up in their mouth and then give it to my son! YIKES! I just tell them that we don't share saliva with children because the plaque on an adult's teeth is actually bacteria and it can cause heart problems in small children. It's true! That made most of them stop sharing and it did continue one other time when Auntie tried to give him a drink. I told my son, "Son we don't drink after other people" in my sweet sing song voice LOL