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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

My boyfriend doesn't like my sister

150 replies

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 08:07

My family are real family people but my boyfriend family isn't so much. My sister gets on my nerves a lot too but at the end of the day we are family. The problem is we all hate her boyfriend and she is becoming more and more like him. But the thing that is annoying my partner the most is the way she acts about our 8 month old daughter.

E.g 1) yesterday we went down to theirs and they live with my dad. My sister had kept up my nephews push along walker for my lo. We were talking about how she walks around holding our hands (but has no balance of her own yet). She then goes "oh I'll get the walker out for her and we can try it out". Of she goes and gets the walker. I gave her a big hug saying thank you and that we will try it with her in a few months. She then proceeds to say "try it on her today, she'll be fine" I say not yet again and she still went on until I said not yet again. She then was in the kitchen and we could hear her mumbling to her boyfriend about it and this really annoyed my partner.

E.g 2) yesterday again I was upstairs using my dad's printer so I wasn't there. My boyfriend said this is how it went. My nephew (nearly 2 years old) was trying to give our lo a chocolate gingerbread man and they were all like no no. So my dad suggests to my boyfriend to get her some cheese out of the fridge. My boyfriend did so and when he came back out she had the ginger bread man in her mouth and apparently my sister looked up saw it and looked back down. This made his really annoyed because they know how we feel about junk food for her.

E.g 3) my sister's boyfriend went to give our daughter a cuddle a few months back with no top on. My boyfriend asked if he could put a top on (as he didn't feel comfortable with anyone but us having skin to skin, fair enough). My sister then whispered to him in the kitchen "just cuddle her anyway it's fine". This really upset my boyfriend.

E.g 4) my sister and her boyfriend are smokers. When we told them we don't feel comfortable that they give our lo a cuddle after smoking and we would like them to wait half an hour and we would like them to change their top if before hand,we heard them bitching about it.

I don't know what to do! We only live a 20 minute walk from each other and when they will be at my dad's he tries to avoid seeing them at all costs and it really upsets me. He gets really funny about it saying that he doesn't want to see them every week and that we need our own lives and that we moved our so we don't have to deal with them. It upset me because yeah they annoy me to but she is my sister at the end of the day. She then said she was going to surprise us and pop up earlier (this was yesterday) and then later that day he said that he thinks it's wrong for her to show up to our house unannounced and she just kind of lets my nephew run about our house without watching him so it's actually my boyfriend that runs around after him as we are in the middle of doing it up as we just moved in last month. I just don't know what to do but it's causing tension and I hate that

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Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:12

I just think he is being ott in this way. I don't have much friends as haven't lived here long and I'm shy but I'm trying to get to more clubs and he is always pushing me to go and make friends and get out and talk to people

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DilemmaaboutMoney · 08/06/2018 09:13
  • of your DD not your neice.
Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:15

I can talk to him. I've sat down and explained it to him and he just says he thinks they get too involved. I know he doesn't like them but he really used to get on with my sister and that's what upset me. They used to be best of friends always chatting and it was so great! But he thinks they treat her like their own when I just think they are being nice

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nannybeach · 08/06/2018 09:15

flavia is correct, you dont have to automatically "love" or even "like" family members, you chose friends you dont chose family they can be bloody annoying. However, apart from the smoking I wouldnt have any issues. Even that is flaming difficult, when my DD was a baby, various DH relatives came round all smokers, I asked them nicely, (a lot dont speak a word of english) not to smoke, was told by other family member (who are none smokers) I was being completely unreasonable, because someone cannt just give up smoking just like that, when she was diagnosed with ashtma, I asked them to smoke outside, they did, right by the back door, with the smoke blowing back in! We didnt go to family gatherings where they would be, was difficult when we went to their house, you cant ask someone not to smoke in their own home. maybe keep distance between you sister, a bit more. You cant make a sister/boyfriend etc automatically like anyone else, you just muddle along and make it work.

Dancingmonkey87 · 08/06/2018 09:16

Your dp is the issue not your family. Personally I couldn’t stay in a relationship with someone who didn’t like my family without a valid reason.

FlaviaAlbia · 08/06/2018 09:17

I'm with your boyfriend here tbh. It's massively irritating when people undermine your parenting in the full knowledge that you wouldn't want them to do something.

Add in the anger issues and the irresponsibility about safety and I'd be backing off from spending too much time in their pockets.

Some people like seeing or doing the first thing with their children. I think that's fair enough provided they wouldn't throw a hissy fit if they missed one. Disappointment would be fine provided they don't take it out on anyone else.

MadMags · 08/06/2018 09:19

Your boyfriend is a dickhead.

deydododatdodontdeydo · 08/06/2018 09:19

Things change when a baby comes along.
A lot of first time parents get really precious, it's not a big deal and something you will probably look back on and cringe.
Sounds like your DP is being a bit over protective, and clashing with your sis rather than not liking her.
We had some different ways of doing things to our families, which were pretty minor looking back, but seemed major at the time.

AJPTaylor · 08/06/2018 09:19

well
its summer now. arrange to meet up elsewhere such as the park.
by the time winter comes dd will be a bit bigger/ dp will be a few mths older and might have grown up a bit.

DistanceCall · 08/06/2018 09:20

There are two points here:

(a) Your boyfriend doesn't have to like your sister, and he may not want to be as involved with your family as you do.

(b) Other than the smoking, what your sister and her boyfriend did was not that bad, and your boyfriend should chill out a little, because, yes, there's other people in the world and they're going to interact with her. (And the smoking wasn't THAT terrible either).

I think you need to talk to him and reach a compromise. Agree that perhaps you'll do more things as a family (and not with your extended family), but also that he'll be more relaxed when you are with them.

As it is, it sounds like he feels threatened that your family are raising your child, not him and you. If you reassert your independence from them, he'll probably feel more comfortable when you are actually with your extended family.

How often do you see your parents and sister / siblings?

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:21

Everyone doesn't like her boyfriend and that's understandable because he is a dick to my sister, nephew and has no respect for anything. He is just horrible. And my sister is hard work because she is becoming more like him and even my mum and dad say the same thing. If things don't go her way she has a strop and bitches all the time but I just let it go over my head.

He has no problem me spending time with my family but he gets all ehhh about them and it's really starting to piss me off. He has said he is worried that our daughter being around my sister when she is older won't be good because in the nicest way possible my sister does wear inapproaite things and when she was a teenager (she is 21 too) she smoked, drank, wore terrible things, always about boys, she swears a lot and so does her boyfriend but I've said to him if you want to be a part of our lives you have to accept my family being a part of it too

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FairyFace · 08/06/2018 09:23

This reminds me of my sister in law ( hubbies brothers wife), her two kids are so restricted and everything so strict. We can't take pictures of them, they aren't allowed to do anything so when they come to my house I give them treats and choclate spread on biscuits and frozen pops etc, they love it! For god sake its not harming them , my own kids only get them as treats too, bil doesn't say anything , I think he doesn't mind at all, I'd say she has a stroke when they go home with chocolate smiles. But hey Im the fun aunt fairy

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:24

Yeah that's exactly it, he feels like my family are raising her and that he doesn't have a say because I do side with my family because I don't see anything wrong with it

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lifechangesforever · 08/06/2018 09:24

I don't understand why you have to see each other every week? I agree with your partner, it's too much and you need your own lives - even more so if everything she does is an annoyance (it doesn't actually sound bad to me, besides the smoking).

I have four brothers - I haven't seen one of them since Xmas but we keep in touch by other means, our relationship is fine for it. I see the other 2 maybe once a month because we both have dogs so we meet up for them to play.

I haven't seen my dad in over 2 years - that's another story though!

You need to get over the whole 'it's family' thing and make your own decisions about who you see and when, regardless of whether they're family or not.

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:25

We see each other 1-2 times a week probably

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Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:28

He gets on with my dad and doesn't mind my dad doing things with her. My dad already calls my boyfriend his son in law and they get on well. If we need to talk to someone about something he is always like call your dad. Or if we are going to do something he is like invite your dad. But he would never say to invite them and doesn't want to. It's just them

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lifechangesforever · 08/06/2018 09:28

Although I have just read more of the thread and if does sound like there may be issues with BF wanting to separate you as well. You need to do what's right for you - he doesn't have to go with you when you visit, surely?

rainingcatsanddog · 08/06/2018 09:29

Are you seeing them so much because you're on maternity leave?

Is your sister older and do you have the sibling dynamic where you give your n to what she says?

Are there problems with your bf if you visit your parents when your sister isn't there? While I think your bf is being precious, it's hard to tell if you're ok about gingerbread men etc or you're going along with the rest of your family.

Missingstreetlife · 08/06/2018 09:30

Don't any of these people have jobs to go to?

TheBogWitchIsBack · 08/06/2018 09:30

Your bf is worried about your sisters influence because she smoked and drank when she was a teenager?
God he sounds like an utter dick.
Her bf sounds like a dick as well.
I think the problem here is 2 sisters who have terrible taste in men.

Dancingmonkey87 · 08/06/2018 09:31

Stop the press your sister was a typical teen! You say your bf and sister were close before and now not? Could something have gone on between them and that’s why he’s agaisnt her all of a sudden, could he have tried it on and she rebuffed him and not said anything?

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:31

I'm not okay with the ginger bread man but I'm not going to get in a huff about it like him. I would have just said oh you can't have that but here is some cheese and forget about it 2 seconds later

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Olddear · 08/06/2018 09:32

What happens when a 'first' happens and he's not there?

Aridane · 08/06/2018 09:33

OP - I've seen your other threads and your DP there seems really horrible. I appreciate your sister might be a bit irritating but I still think the real issue is DP

Anony123 · 08/06/2018 09:34

No my boyfriend would never have tried it on with her. If anything my dad said he thinks my sister might have a little thing for my boyfriend but I don't know. I just miss when they were close. It was so great!

I know it's frustrates me too. He is worried that my sister will be the one to give her her first fag and not care. It's just really starting to piss me off now

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