=\[ lg fm\i _\i eX^^`e^

MY mother-in-law’s constant nagging is getting on everyone’s wick. From the minute she turns up she starts on about how lazy and rude my children are.

I find myself trying to keep the peace and they now hate her guts. I don’t need this, especially as her own daughter no longer allows her in her home for the same reason.

JANE SAYS: I suspect your mother-in-law feels she’s got to that stage in her life where she can say anything she likes, but you have tell her to stop.

If all she’s doing is making a tense situation even worse, then she’s not helping at all. Remind her that this is your house and, even though it make not look like it, you do have things under control. Point out that she is in serious danger of isolating herself completely.