Dear Abby: She wants to dress my little girl in hot pants and sequins
DEAR ABBY My father s wife Carole loves to thrift-shop She enjoys hunting for a good deal particularly if she can find things for our -year-old daughter Liana Related Articles Dear Abby I checked her story about a celebrity classmate and proved she was lying Dear Abby I heard my father-in-law sneak a woman into the basement Dear Abby I realize now why the others refused to go on my sister s outings Dear Abby Please tell people that there s no friendship after divorce Dear Abby We re not even married and she s pestering me about my clothes and eating It s sweet how excited she gets when she brings over a pile of new clothes The complication is Carole has really different taste than my husband and I do and largest part of her purchases aren t appropriate for a little girl to be wearing I m talking hot pants tiny tank tops sequin midriff shirts and leopard miniskirts These outfits don t pass the school dress code or the Mama dress code We have informed Liana she can wear these things only at home and made a dress up box for them She s OK with that but I m not sure what to tell Carole when she asks why Liana isn t wearing her new clothes Several times I ve had to intervene when she s narrated our daughter to change into the things she s brought before we go out I ve explained things like We like Liana to be more covered up but it s like Carole can t hear me How can I spare Carole s feelings while enforcing our standards This isn t something I m going to budge on MODEST MAMA IN THE MIDWEST DEAR MAMA You have tried the oblique approach Carole doesn t get the message Now it s time for you to step up and be a mom Tell Carole you are grateful for her generosity but you do not want your daughter overexposed in population Tell her you want Liana to concentrate on her intellectual rise rather than on glitz and glamour which is why you feel sequin midriff shirts hot pants and leopard print clothing are not appropriate Then give her back the items you feel are objectionable so she can donate them again DEAR ABBY My son is and has been dating a -year-old he met in his art class I keep hearing from him that she says she loves him I tell him it is ridiculous He lives with me and wants to know if she can move in with us I am and he has been living with me for years which I am privileged and thankful for I notified him no way I can t believe that her mother is even allowing this Am I too old-fashioned or is this the new fad DISAPPROVING IN ARIZONA DEAR DISAPPROVING You are thinking pragmatically Your son thinks he s in love Related Articles Asking Eric The party was in the yard but this one guest wouldn t leave my house Harriette Cole Everyone in the restaurant was staring and my friend pretended she didn t know me Miss Manners Is my husband right that my phone alarm is rude Dear Abby I checked her story about a celebrity classmate and proved she was lying Asking Eric My mother has an inappropriate connection with my ex-boyfriend At a young woman is considered an adult and capable of making her own choices in romance even May-December ones It s achievable that she loves your son There is more than one kind of love Before drawing a line in the sand make an effort to get to know her With time she may grow tired of being with both of you and decide to move on If you are adamant that you can t tolerate another woman living in your home you are right to refuse But I caution you If you do you may find your son will move out to be with her Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren also known as Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother Pauline Phillips Contact Dear Abby at www DearAbby com or P O Box Los Angeles CA
