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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To tell child not to be in any photos without her sister

635 replies

SpanishFork · 10/04/2025 12:17

I have issues with my in-laws excluding my eldest daughter who is my husband’s stepdaughter from photographs. This upsets my eldest.

BiL has two sets of children with the elder ones in their twenties, I saw FiL talking to one of them and the nephew then chatted to the elder siblings and cousins and they then took turns to take photos. When my eldest took the photos instructions were given to her and it is ALWAYS these photos that appear at in-laws so pictures of bio grandchildren without my daughter.

On Easter Saturday can I instruct my five year old not to stand in any photos with her cousins without her sister?

OP posts:
Lavenderflower · 11/04/2025 06:27

I think this is inappropriate to put this on your child. Also this a choice you have made on your child by creating a step family.

Allwillbewell2 · 11/04/2025 06:55

Could you not address it with PIL, there is a very good chance they don't realise how devastating their actions are? And no, you're right, you can't cut of contact - that is nuts and totally unfair to your youngest. I would address it with them and if they aren't interested I would scale back the joint family activities so your eldest doesn't always spend Easter/Christmas with them.

Namechangetry · 11/04/2025 07:15

Copperoliverbear · 11/04/2025 04:46

Don’t hid behind a five year old, stand up for your child and say you want her included like the other grandchildren, if they refuse, leave the house and never take your children there again, let your husband go alone if he wants to.
also he’s been gutless too as he should have never let this happen in the first place, he should have spoken to his parents

You can't take the younger DC away from seeing her loving extended family because the older DCs extended family aren't interested. That's not right.

It'd be great if the IL wanted to step into that place for older DC but they don't and you can't make them. OP can't force IL to treat her DD like their grandchild, or hold younger DD to ransom. Younger DD will end up resenting older DD and OP if she prevents her having a relationship with her family because older DD hasn't got one.

ohdearagain2 · 11/04/2025 07:18

Will your eldest’s biological dad allow your hubby to adopt her?

Londonrach1 · 11/04/2025 07:19

Yabu. Can't believe you making your five year do this. Also why can't they have a photo just of their grandchild.

Seventree · 11/04/2025 07:30

You're letting down your eldest daughter in a huge way. You chose to find a partner and have another child. You chose to introduce a new father figure into your eldest's life. Now it's your responsibility not to let her be treated like an outsider.

In your shoes I wouldn't have had a baby with someone who wasn't 100% onboard with treating my daughter the same as his biological child, and who wasn't fully committed to making sure she was treated the same by his family. If this prevented your youngest from having a relationship, I would explain that they are not nice people and didn't accept that her sister was daddy's daughter because they're not related by blood.

UrinalCake · 11/04/2025 07:38

Copperoliverbear · 11/04/2025 04:46

Don’t hid behind a five year old, stand up for your child and say you want her included like the other grandchildren, if they refuse, leave the house and never take your children there again, let your husband go alone if he wants to.
also he’s been gutless too as he should have never let this happen in the first place, he should have spoken to his parents

You think the OP gets to decide whether her DH takes their daughter to see his parents?

lookingforshoes · 11/04/2025 07:45

The simple answer seems to be that you offer to step in as cameraman so your eldest doesn’t have to do it.

I do think you’re being a bit daft though and it’s really not up to you to approve what photos they have on display in their home.

Didshejustsaythatoutloud · 11/04/2025 07:48

Gettingbysomehow · 10/04/2025 12:40

Absolutely awful, I was excluded from holidays, photos, gifts everything being the daughter from another man who I've never even met.

I stopped visiting altogether when I grew up as it broke my heart to see pictures of the 4 of them all over the house and none of me.
Being excluded really hurts and the child certainly does notice everything.
You need to tell them if they don't include your daughter then your children don't see them at all. That's your responsibility as the adult.

It never ceases to amaze and disappoint me the attitudes of some adults towards children!!!!
I could and will never exclude any innocent child from family.
Utterly shameful behaviour!!

Inthedeep · 11/04/2025 07:57

@SpanishFork how old was your eldest daughter when you met your partner? I’m assuming fairly little as your youngest is 5 and your eldest daughter is 9. Does he consider her to be his daughter or suggested adopting her? I’m just wondering if his family are just mirroring his attitude towards your daughter and if he treated her like his own, then they would too, or because he doesn’t, they’ve kept their distance.

Mummypie21 · 11/04/2025 08:00

WimpoleHat · 10/04/2025 20:45

My DH was talking about something the other day which applies here, I think. He recently travelled a long way to see an elderly aunt and uncle and his niece (granddaughter of aforementioned) said she’d go with him. Involved a day off work for niece and a long journey. I was ferrying kids to school, so was never going to be going, but niece was a bit cross that her new husband hadn’t wanted to go too. And my DH was telling her that, with in laws relationships, it’s always the relative that’s the focus/priority and the spouse is pretty much always a neutral addition. And I agree with this. I (and the new husband of the niece) get on perfectly well with the elderly relatives in question; had I gone too they would have said (and I’m sure meant it quite genuinely) how nice it was to see me. But ultimately, for them, the main event was the visit from their nephew and their granddaughter, so the fact that her husband and I weren’t there wouldn’t have mattered at all. And I bet it’s the same in this situation with the OP’s in laws. The OP’s older daughter is a natural extension of their son’s spouse; she’s welcome and welcomed (and, by the sound of it, because she’s a child, treated decently in terms of a gift when appropriate), but she’s not the main focus. She comes along with their son and granddaughter. And I can see how that’s hard for the OP, who sees her two daughters as equal and as sisters in every way. But for the OP’s in laws, her older DD is an in-law herself, rather than an integral part of the family (if that makes sense?).

I agree with this post. I was born and raised in the UK but I come from a culture where parents-in-laws are supposed to be treated as your own parents. My parents-in-law are lovely and I get them gifts for mothers/fathers day and include them in our extended family activities. However, I view them primarily as my husband's parents. They aren't the same as my own (even though I try to make things equal for both sides).

Candy24 · 11/04/2025 08:01

Honestly I think it isn't fair to do that. Does your eldest have grandparents that are engaged and active in her life? I mean I understand to you it isn't nice or your eldest and I personally wouldn't exclude a child. I would not involve the 5yr old.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 11/04/2025 08:05

I really can see this from both sides, @SpanishFork.

Put yourself in your in laws' shoes for a moment. They don't have the kind of relationship with your daughter that began with an excited phone call and a picture of a scan. They didn't spend weeks wondering whether today was the day you were going to go into labour. They didn't go to the hospital or your house to meet her when she was a few days old. They weren't around when she said her first word or took her first step. When she came into their lives she was already a fully fledged person, who probably doesn't call them Nanna and Grandad. And, even if they don't realise it, they are probably holding back from getting too emotionally attached to her because at least subconsciously they know that if you and your husband split up, they will probably never see her again unless they're still alive when her sister gets married. So even if they are kind to your daughter, or think they are being kind, they just don't see themselves as her grandparents. Because they're not.

There are some things it is not reasonable to expect them to do, such as saving into an ISA for her. But I'm guessing that the ISA is not what is upsetting your daughter right now, and she probably doesn't even know about it. If you can afford to save for your children, perhaps you could save into an ISA yourself. This is one situation where I think it's OK not to treat your children equally. You could, if funds allow, put some extra money into your elder daughter's ISA to compensate for the fact that she won't be getting anything from her paternal family.

I think it is also OK for them to want to have some pictures with only their biological grandchildren in, if only for the fact that if you and your husband one day split up and they no longer see either you or your daughter, they're going to want to have some pictures of their grandchildren at all ages that don't also feature a child who is no longer part of the family.

However, I think it would probably make a big difference to your daughter if they stopped treating her differently in ways that she notices. So it would be nice if they chose to display some of the pictures that she is actually in. If the next time she goes to their house she sees a new picture on display which is one of the pictures she is in with the other children, rather than one of the pictures she took of the rest of the family, or a lovely picture of just her and her sister, she would probably feel more included.

I think it is also reasonable to point out to them that when they have family parties deliberately planned for days they know she won't be there, or when they give her Christmas presents which are clearly unequal compared to the ones the other children get, she notices. It wouldn't cost that much money for them to get her the same sort of Christmas present that the others get, and to get her something on her birthday.

But it will probably rub them up the wrong way if this comes from you. So you and your husband need to be on the same page about what is reasonable to ask them, and approach them together. Or even him on his own, if you trust him to get the message across more effectively that way.

Assuming they're not bad people, it would be helpful to explain to them that even though they think they're doing enough to include her, the difference in treatment is really noticeable. And it wouldn't be so bad if she had a loving family on her dad's side and this was just an added extra, but she doesn't. And so being treated as less important because she's not a blood relative is just rubbing salt in the wound for her, because it's showing her what she doesn't have and never will, because her paternal family aren't involved in her life.

MightAsWellBeGretel · 11/04/2025 08:05

I'm sorry, but however you want to gloss over it, your eldest daughter is not their granddaughter. They're not being mean in wanting photos of their granddaughter.

Would you be offended if they wanted some photos of their son (your DH) on his own without you?

It doesn't mean they're excluding anyone from the family. It's an uncomfortable truth, I'm afraid.

WimpoleHat · 11/04/2025 08:08

If this prevented your youngest from having a relationship, I would explain that they are not nice people and didn't accept that her sister was daddy's daughter because they're not related by blood.

This is awful - they’re not “not nice people” just because they don’t want to pretend something is true. And there could be serious kickback from the younger child when she gets older and sees this for herself and then becomes very resentful that her familiial bonds have been deliberately compromised for this reason. OP would like them to see her older child as their grandchild, but she isn’t, so they don’t. That’s not a reason to prevent them from having a relationship with their granddaughter. It sounds like they are friendly and kind to the older DD. And if there was an equally active set of parental grandparents, this wouldn’t be an issue at all.

saraclara · 11/04/2025 08:12

My sons in law are good people and I'm very fond of them. But they are not my children and I will never have that deep and instinctive love for them.

If I had step grandchildren I imagine it would feel the same. I could involve them in everything we do as a family and eventually have a different kind of love for them but the feeling would be different, I'm sure. It would lack that primal element.

I have a mix of photos, but the main one on my coffee table is of my DDs and my grandchildren.

Namechangetry · 11/04/2025 08:13

Candy24 · 11/04/2025 08:01

Honestly I think it isn't fair to do that. Does your eldest have grandparents that are engaged and active in her life? I mean I understand to you it isn't nice or your eldest and I personally wouldn't exclude a child. I would not involve the 5yr old.

From OPs other thread the older DD had no contact with her father and is mortified when that is mentioned (by a Dr taking family history I think it was?)

OP and older DD clearly have some stuff about older DDs father not being around. But can't force younger DDs family to want to fill that gap.

I'm surprised how many posters seem to think that OP or her DH can or should be demanding that ILs treat older DD as their grandchild. You can't force people to feel that if they don't. It'd be lovely if they did but they don't have to, they can't be made to, and younger DD shouldn't be made to miss out on her family stuff because older DDs family aren't around.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 11/04/2025 08:14

I also think that if there is any possibility of your husband adopting your daughter, it would probably be hugely significant to her, and as far as your in laws are concerned, it might make them see that their son is her dad, she doesn't have another one, and that makes them her grandparents.

Velvian · 11/04/2025 08:17

Is there a possibility of your DH adopting your eldest @SpanishFork ?

I think it is really unfair to exclude your DD from photos, treat differently with presents and even with the ISA, when she has no other paternal family.

Your DH has 2 children, it sounds like his siblings also have more than 1 child. It really us no skin off their nose.

Your younger child will ultimately think badly of her grandparents for how they have treated her sister differently, but I wouldn't mention anything to her.

Katiesaidthat · 11/04/2025 08:24

Mumble12 · 10/04/2025 16:45

Did who resent it? If you mean my kids, no they were pretty young at the time, maybe 2,4,7ish. We never spent a huge amount of time with them anyway, so the major change was not visiting at Xmas/bday etc. My husband didn’t resent it, he thought it was gross behaviour, regardless of the fact it was his parents. And did they resent it? Yeah absolutely, thought it was all my doing, despite my husband repeatedly telling them we both felt the same.

No, I don’t think they would have thought of it like that, they were kids who grew up with her as their big sister, they did know my husband wasn’t her dad obviously but no one was treated differently at home, so I don’t think they’d have thought oh she’s been singled out elsewhere cos she’s not biologically theirs.

I wouldn’t think much of anyone who treated a child differently based on who their parents were tbh. Certainly wouldn’t have wanted to reinforce that idea to my DDs in any case.

My final straw if it’s relevant was a birthday card. We were all on holiday over my eldest daughter’s 11th birthday and neither of them acknowledged it at all. No card/gift etc. we’d decorated and done a special breakfast. Only after she went to get dressed for the day did my husband point out that neither of them had said a word. And MIL said “we don’t all need to repeat it surely, she knows what day it is”

That was pointedly nasty, I say happy birthday to someone I don´t know that well when they metion it´s their birthday because that´s what you do, especially to a kid, it´s important to them and it doesn´t cost anything.

Housemouse245 · 11/04/2025 08:25

It sounds like they are including her on days out and for special occasions, they just want a photo of their grandchildren every now and then (and they’re including her in some of those photos too!). If you two split up they’d never see your daughter again and there’d be a random child on every family photo so I can understand why they’d do that. I think it would be wrong to start keeping her away from them just because she’s not in some photos. She will feel more isolated than ever! It’s just unfortunate that her bio family are so rubbish but that isn’t the fault of your in-laws.

Tbrh · 11/04/2025 08:29

Housemouse245 · 11/04/2025 08:25

It sounds like they are including her on days out and for special occasions, they just want a photo of their grandchildren every now and then (and they’re including her in some of those photos too!). If you two split up they’d never see your daughter again and there’d be a random child on every family photo so I can understand why they’d do that. I think it would be wrong to start keeping her away from them just because she’s not in some photos. She will feel more isolated than ever! It’s just unfortunate that her bio family are so rubbish but that isn’t the fault of your in-laws.

At last, some sense

harriethoyle · 11/04/2025 08:31

“My DH loves his family and thinks they should be able to treat their grandchildren as long as they are not rude to my eldest, which they’re not.”

he’s bob on. They clearly acknowledge her, they get Christmas presents and include her when she’s there but your daughter is not their grandchild and they are entitled to have different relationships with their grandchildren. It’s not your in laws fault that your daughters paternal family are rubbish. You need to back off or you will ruin your youngest’s relationship with her GP which is really unfair.

saraclara · 11/04/2025 08:38

This seems to only be about the photos, so I'd be trying not to over-think it. They're taking a mix of photos, and the grandparents are being careful about how they manage one of them only having their grandchildren in, without making it obvious.

In your partner's position, I'd be mentioning to the grandparents that they don't have any photos on display that include his step child, and that it makes him sad.

Hankunamatata · 11/04/2025 08:46

Ok weird tangent but would dh consider adopting dsd?

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