Parents do their best to form a close-knit family and keep their kids connected with their cousins, but they can’t force anything. Some might be tied in an inseparable bond with their cousins while others may prefer being at a comfortable distance with them. One parent found himself in a weird situation when the wife almost forced their 13-year-old daughter to hang out with her cousin. It led to a clash!
Every family is different and so, when it comes to the bond that the kids share with their cousins, every string is connected distinctly. Parents might contribute a bit to this connection but as the children grow up, the choice is theirs to make.
This parent had trouble with one such case in the family. Their 13-year-old daughter is being forced to be friends with her cousin who is the same age despite her opposing efforts.
The original poster (OP) explained in the post that this thing with their teenage daughter seems to have taken a messy turn.
The OP shared, “My wife has two sisters and is close to both. Their mom died when they were young so they bonded over the loss and became very close. We have two kids. Chris (16M) and Kaylee (13F). My wife’s old sister also has two kids. Owen (17M) and Emma (16F). They live about 5 minutes from us and our kids attend the same school.”
According to the OP, Chris, Owen, and Emma have always been close and spend time together. The issue arises with their wife’s younger sister who has a daughter named Gia. She is just 3 months older than Kaylee.
“The problem is that Kaylee doesn’t like hanging out with Gia and it’s becoming more obvious as they get older that they are two different people,” the OP added.
The Redditor explained all the contrasting traits between Gia and Kaylee and revealed that the two girls “are on different wavelengths”.
“Now that things are opening back up Gia’s mom said she can’t wait to have Kaylee over. Kaylee said she doesn’t want to sleepover Gia’s. She said she’ll still interact with Gia at family events but doesn’t want to sleepover there anymore or go over to play,” the parent shared in the post.
“This upset my wife a lot. She said Kaylee doesn’t get a say. Later, that night I told my wife I sided with Kaylee. I don’t think she should be forced to hang out with Gia.”
The OP said that their wife had a baffling reaction to this. She was uptight regarding her decision to make their 13-year-old hang out with Gia.
“My wife said that I am an only child, so I will never understand her family values and how this isn’t up for discussion. I told her that wasn’t fair. Kaylee should get a say and she said that you don’t get a say when it comes to family. We argued for a while before I told her that we would be having this discussion later and she didn’t talk to me for the rest of the night,” the post read.
The comments came flooding in and mostly, people took the OP’s side. “Your wife is controlling. Kaylee is 13, and old enough to realize what interests her. They may become friends as they get older, but forcing it is awkward, and will never work,” one expressed.
Everyone commented with a similar opinion. They felt that the daughter deserves to keep her point of view as she is old enough to take such decisions.
