"Our dear friends Hank and Bridget have been married for more than 35 years. Each had been married previously and had one child each, and they have a child together. That child is now a married adult. Here is the rub. Since her two half-siblings are each more than 10 years older, she has been treated like an only child and given every opportunity not afforded to the others. This has caused some consternation between her and her siblings,"
"How should we proceed? GENTLE READER: By not going. But please do not explain why. Telling your dear friends that they have spoiled and indulged their only mutual child into being a dictator who eschews the culinary needs of their guests for her own temperamental whims will not be the antidote to their problem that you think it will. Miss Manner"
A couple’s younger child, treated like an only child despite half-siblings, receives preferential treatment that sours relations with family and friends. Longstanding holiday gatherings at the parents’ vacation house were typically potluck dinners requiring overnight stays because of travel time. The parents changed the meal to dessert only after the younger daughter, two months postpartum with her third child, said she would be overwhelmed by the gathering. The friends find the trip and hotel expense unreasonable for dessert and resolve to decline the invitation. The advised course is to refuse attendance without offering a justification.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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