When I visit my MIL, she has a habit of "intercepting" my children (we have two). I don't know how else to describe it -- sometimes if I'm interacting with my child at her place, she'll interject/interrupt and ask my son to sit on her lap, or go with her to look at something, etc. All I can provide are examples to describe it -- when we were leaving from a visit once, my son was walking at my side with me to the car and she cut me off and grabbed his hand saying "hold grandmas hand I'll walk you to the car". If my husband is holding the baby and passes her to me so he can do something, she'll jump right in and intercept the baby like she's a football (saying "oh I'll take her)). I'm not posting to ask if I'm overreacting because I find all this unacceptable and don't need/want any validation -- I am the mom and no one should feel comfortable intercepting/interupting/blocking me from my child, it shows a lack of respect for my authority. My question is, how do I put an end to her rude behavior? I don't want to ask my husband to get involved because we fight very heavily over in-law issues, so I have to address it with her myself. Do I say something to her each and every time she "intercepts", and how? For example, when I'm talking to my son and she interrupts to get him to sit on her lap, what do I say? And if she cuts me off to grab my son's hand as I'm walking with him, how do I tell her 'don't do that'? It's difficult because it's not behavior that I can nip in the bud with one conversation; it seems like it's going to take redundant confrontation, over and over.
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