How do i deal with family on holiday??

[MamaMaiasaura]

For my birthday treat have arranged a comping weeked with 2 of my sisters and their girls. 4 girls in all and then my ds.

Thing is 1 sister (who i am especially close too as well) is having problems with hubby and is generally 'not right'. She has 3 dd and the youngest is quite out of control.. thing is my sister doesnt see it and laughs at some of her behavour too. Also her and her dh dont seem to parent together iykwim and i am dreading hearing them shout at their dd's. My other sister has just the one dd and has refused to let my sisters other 3 sleep in their tent as well. I am not explaining this very well as i love all my nieces but my sister cant see that they arent givng kids clear boundries and they are confused and are picking up on what is going on.

Sister is also having a really hard time and dont want to add to it and her hubby is a lovely bloke too and trying to do his best.

Want to enjoy camping trip but dreading my ds coming up to me upset cos his cousin has been mean (she is quite pyhsical and very difficult) - they are same age too.

Before you go ask your sister and her husband if it is OK for you to discipline their children when needed if they are not around. They should be OK about this as it will save them some work. On the first day make sure that you set some rules and sanctions such as no hitting/pinching/hair pulling or sweets will be removed. My SIL is great with my ds and he always does what she says even when he is ignoring me. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If you brand your niece as the "naughty one" she will definately live up to your expectations. Try to find something positive to praise her for, but it has to be something genuine and unique to her. She will be picking up on tension at home and deserves some careful handling just like your sister. I hope you all manage to have lots of fun together.

I dont mean to brand her as 'the naughty one' at all although i feel i already have it is just every time i see sister or speak to sister her dd has done something. And whenever ds sees her is is upset and doesnt want to be around her. She has already been sent home from year R and kicked teacher and locked teacher out of classroom. Dont get me wrong, I love dn to bits and we are very close. I think she is a little jealous of ds cos for a time i would visit and ds lived with his dad. But it isnt just me that finds her diff. Will try and show patience etc dont want big family fall out, they all mean too much to me.

You sound like a good aunty, at least you are planning ahead. I hope they apprieciate you and that you have a happy birthday.

One trick that worked for me was to but some toys and let the kids know that they would only be given them at the end of the day if they had not fought. Then I reminded them every time I spotted trouble brewing.

I mean buy not but