How do you tell the 'mother in law' to leave off?

[juicychops]

How do you tell your mother in law to leave off? she's getting on my nerves giving me advice i don't want and just generally interfering. Its getting on my nerves. also all her family smokes and so i don't wand my son going round there much cos he's had a bad cough but then she gets all funny and starts making sarcastic remarks. surely she should respect our dislike to smoking?

MILs - I have learned the hard way - are a law unto themselves... unpredictable, picky and impossible to please.
Your MIL should respect your wishes, but they just aren't built that way Big sympathy from me to you. It's a hard job standing up to them so get your dh/dp to do it. Good luck though. I'd stand firm on the smoking - my gran smokes but knows I would never forgive her if she did it while looking after dd - but that's my family, which is a different kettle of fish.

i am not sure you really can tell them to leave off to be honest!
I just tend to nod and agree when given advice I don't want... they're only trying to help...
I don't think that they realise they are interfering to be honest... they just have ways of doing things and like to share them.
Just smile and agree, and carry on doing stuff exactly how you want to.

As for the smoking, well, she should respect that. If she wants to see her grandson then she;ll have to stop doing it around him.. end of story

The best thing to do and my advice would be to tell her straight! .... the cowards option (the one I would in reality take) would be to moan to dh/dp about her so that he is forced to say something !