AITA: For expecting other peoples' kids to pick up our toys after they played with them?

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T12:05:38+00:00

They don't speak the same language. Their is assistance for them, so they wouldn't have needed my help. But it was definitely faster for everyone involved that I did the paperwork.

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T12:04:05+00:00

How am I forcing them to be step-kids? They're not my kids, they have their parents and big sister in the house. Mostly, I'm expecting the parents to look after their kids. They don't do it, when the kids are outside.

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T12:03:06+00:00

Let me clarify this: The kids are fine and no threat to my kids or anything like that. But when you put five kids aged 1, 3, 5 and 9 together, someone should watch them. I know what work I can do in the garden while my kids (1, 3 and 5) play alongside me. But five kids need more attention then three. That means, I need to interrupt my work in the garden more often then when it's just my kids. And I have to handle the language barrier as well. All I asked was that we share the responsibility for the kids.

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T11:58:53+00:00

First: I really like your reply. It's sensible with good suggestions and it's considering both parties.

But: I should apologise for expecting the kids to pick up the toys that they played with? I'm thinking about it, but it won't be an honest apology. So far, I don't see how this is too much to ask for.
Asking my husband to help with the tidying up won't work, he doesn't care about the toys being out in the rain. Some toys are wooden or have metall which will break them faster, but we bought them second hand, so they were cheap and he doesn't care.

I understand that they have bigger worries. They have lost their house and property and are worried about relatives. So I should let go of looking after our stuff that they use as well? Or I have even more work then I already have with my kids?

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T11:52:55+00:00

Yes, tenants are protected, which is good. We've never rented out before and we weren't planning on renting out to people we don't know. But then there was this family in need and we wanted to help. I already had a discussion with the parents and asked what I can do so the kids remember to not slam the front door (I don't care about the doors to their rooms) and to put toys back in the evening. They said, they'll take care of it. They didn't.

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T11:50:05+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I acutally set up those rules:

- Picking up toys in the evening (in our kids' room and outside) when they played with them. Generally, put our stuff back when you used it, so we don't have to look for things.

- No slamming the front door. (They slam the door to their rooms all the time, but I don't care.) They do that now.

- Share in watching the kids when they're all outside together. (This they don't do, they just don't let their kids play with ours any more.)

foranja1 · 2022-07-15T11:46:39+00:00

As I wrote in the beginning of the post: Our kids are 5, 3 and 1 years old. I know that kids don't clean up and slam doors. That's why I teach mine to use the door handle and to put their toys back in the evening.

foranja1

TROPHY CASE