to go through a whole play-act just to humour my mum?

[booyhoo]

my phone charger is broken. i have ordered a new one. she told me the other day to try all the chargers in her house. i kknow none of them fit my phone so i told her this. she phones again today and says the same thing. sigh. should i just go out and go through the whole 'trying a million different chargers' rig-ma-role just to satisfy her?

No need - just be clear with her. Unless she has serious issues or illness she can accept that not all technology is compatible.

she really doesn't understand it though. i have explained that different makes will not fit other chargers. she says "you dont know that til you try it" i do know that.

She's just trying to be helpful.
Tell her you've borrowed one from a friend.

ah sounds just like my granny (not implying that your mum is old though!!!). I find it easier to grit my teeth and act it out - less hassle in the long run!!

Get her to try them out for you - then she'll realise.

I wouldn't, you've got more interesting things to do with your day, like mn-ing

You could just explain that chargers are either specific to each phone or sometimes brand specific.

Just tell her you have already tried and you have asked the neighbours about borrowing theirs too. But none fit so you will just have to wait for the new one, unless she has any she wants to bring and then she can try and get them to fit.

It sounds like this issue is more loaded with meaning than just 'how do phone chargers work'.

My Mum tries this sometimes and I have to be mega-firm ranging to abrupt. Its not nice but it always feels to me like a control issue, like when I was a child and she probably did know best.

She probably just wants it to be true so she can help you and you save money.

I would just say "Mum, they WON'T work!" and leave it at that.

But while we're on the subject, wouldn't it be refreshing if all phone manufacturers got together and decided to use just one universal charger? It won't happen but wouldn't it be so much better ?

Get her to do the running around! Say, 'ok mum - you just go, check what brand they all are, and then let me know. Then I will know if they'll fit'. She might feel differently when she thinks about actually writing down brand and make for several different chargers?

i have told her i will be out later so will try them then. she takes great offence when i am firm with her. she sees it as rudeness, which it isn't but because i am telling her she is wrong, that's how she feels.
i will tell her later that she is free to try all the chargers she wants.

Could you explain it to her that it's a bit like going away on holiday, taking an electrical thing with you (kettle, hairdryer, whatever) and then trying to plug it into a foreign plug without an adaptor?

And that when you do that you either can't plug it in at all or if you can, it tends to blow up and ruin the thing you've plugged in wrongly.

OK so it isn't likely to blow up if you try to plug your phone into the wrong charger but it might be something that she understands and could be useful to help in explaining it to her?

My mum does this too. I don't think it's a power thing with her (she's generally quite laid-back). Can't fathom the reasoning behind it but she will just keep repeating "advice" till one of two things happens; either I cave in and play-act taking the advice knowing full well it won't work, or I snap which usually means mum goes in a huff and won't talk to me till I go around and stroke her a bit

Thankfully, it doesn't happen that often otherwise I'd constantly be at the end of my tether!

My favourite routine with my mum goes like this:

Me: "My eyes are itching and my throat feels raw, I think I have hayfever."
Mum: "Nonsense, you don't have a fever."
Me: "You don't get a fever with hayfever, mum. That's just a name. It's allergy to pollen and I do have it."
Mum: "Well, you aren't even a bit warm. You definitely don't have hayfever. Probably just a wee cold."

Over and over again till I scream . You'd think I'd have learnt by now, but every year we go through the same drama again and again!

yeah,that sounds about right lutyens. cue me pretendingto take sleeping pills whilst pregnant with ds1 even though i know all the advice says not to. she knows different. it was easier to play along.

i'm going out later,just going let her try all the chargers and find out for herself.