I'm lucky, nobody dares mess with my place the one that do depart immediately.... Friends dont wreck you place they treat it with respect and if they cant they you dont need them in your life..... Sounds hard but it work, People know the guidelines in my house/yard, I respect their places and if they cant respect mine, dont bother coming... Probably the worst I ever had was a nephew who was bossing the younger children and not letting them have a turn on the trampoline, woke me up I was sick in bed and I got out of bed when they woke me up and heard the language, the rest of the family were outside my bedroom. Nephew didnt know what hit him verbally, [did apologise later] and went running to mum, who told him I was the boss as it was my house and she wasnt there so couldnt comment. Didnt like me for 3 days until he wanted to come up again to ride the dirt bikes around the paddock, Was an instant when parents, grandparents etc, dropped their guard and no one was supervising....... I was one pissed off person, being woken up, bad enough having to be so ill on birthday, everyone else celebrating and kids acting up.... But we are still best friends and nothing else has happened before or after.

Wuff, that's how it should be...unfortuntely things are hardly ever as they should be and mny people these days haven't a clue about ettiquette....that applies to some adults in particular. I agree that fine dining restaurants are not suitable for children...unless of course, as you describe, the children hav been schooled in proper behaviour. One restaurants I've been taken to on specil occasions actually has a policy of "no children"..but in order not to breach discrimination ettiquette they have a special chidren's dining room with waiters dressed in colorful uniforms. There's also a fine dining children's menu. The children are called 'maam' and 'sir' and have their chairs pulled out for them....they have their non alcoholic drinks served in lovly glases as if it were champagne or wine....it really delightful. They also have themed evenings. There's a dining etiquette that the children are expected to observe..and how to hold and use the cutlery. Parents are given a little booklet about it.. I thought it a good way to instruct the adults under the guise of instructing the children. It works well and the restaurant owners are to be commended for such a novel approach to...well, it "manners" isn't it? And not many know the mening ot the word these days. The children come away from such an experience feeling important..and I think some parents learn a few things too. There's nothing worse that not being able to go out for a dignified meal because other people don't realise that some places are just not for children..especilly their chidren. Its one thing being well-to-do and completely another having manners. My dear old Mum was the eldest of 12 children...their Dad was an Engine Driver, but he insisted that each and every one of the children learn manners.. As disadvantaged as they were, they "dressed" for dinner in their best always clean, pressed, starched clothes,,, darns, mends and all, and he'd inspect them all before they were allowed to be seated. Mum's Aunt Laura taught her to..."be a lady" and educated her about the arts, taught her how to dance, how to set a table for a three course meal, how to dress, how to be polite, and..how to cook and manage a home...so she would be able to "mix it with the best" and not be thought out of place. How things have changed...its all more relaxed. Manners and respect for others seem to have..."Gone With The Wind"..regarded as outmoded and old fashioned. Pity! Wonder how we can get a gracious, respecful society back?

You know, Alipetecampbell, I think a lot of good could be done by simply not allowing houses to be built unless they're designed by a qualified architect and signed off by a qualified engineer, and built to minimum standards that ensure proper passive climate control (insulation, glazing, orientation etc.) and social linkage issues - let's ban the food desert and the nappy valley. Developers have a vested interest in building cheap, and those rubbish houses sell because (a) there's not much else on the market and (b) superficially they look okay. You'd argue that what I'm proposing would raise housing costs, but let's stop making billionaires of developers, let's stop councils from charging silly money for planning fees (eminently doable if housing is professionally designed) and, as I have said above, use less land for more housing AND more greenspace too, and the cuts in cost these measures would create could go towards making all houses better.

my MIL is one one those that won't fetch anything for herself ..she expects you to get up when she gets up 5-6am and fetch her breakfast..and it's no good offering would you like some toast as she'd be like oh no I'm fine.. you need to cook breakfast and plop it in front of her.. she wouldn't let me wash her clothes so showed her how to use the machine..she hand washes them and pop them on the line right on top of my rack of dried clothes..she took my clothes down so she had room to hang hers out..and of course her dripped on mine ..?? and if she dries the dishes she must do it intentionally to annoy me as it takes me ages to find bits and pieces to my rice cooker..?? amongst other things that happened .. my MIL is hated by all of his family..because she's the second wife..his biological mum is the best MIL you can have she's kind and loving not like this one..calculating ..stabs you behind your back and the list goes on.. my husband must takes after his mum..he's kind and caring.. thank goodness she's overseas now..only lose him to get twice a year for 10 days each..