Conflict at home

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later...

We were at the Novena house this evening, doing the same old usual boring thing ( ie not much ) and sitting around chatting before dinner. Elizabeth was in the playpen that was right in the middle of the hallway, supposedly trying to sleep without help.

Of course Madison finds the playpen irresistable and one of her favourite activities is to crawl into the pen under the mattress that was suspended above.

Ma was playing with her then, and allowed her to crawl into the pen with Elizabeth lying on top. Geok saw it happen and promptly told her to get Madison out. Instead of doing just that, Ma got defensive and Geok ended up telling her off. I had to intervene and get Madison out of the pen. Ma got upset.

Then while we were having dinner Madison started to approach the pen again while under the care of Warni. Elizabeth for some reason was unsupervised in the pen. Geok immediately told Warni to take Madison back to the play area and keep her there.

I am trying to stay level headed about the entire thing, but if Geok wants her daughter to be safe from other people, is it not better for her to be napping upstairs away from the crowd in the evening?

Does Madison not have every right to be freely playing in the house?

Is it unfair that access to the pen, that now sits smack in the middle of the hall, that constantly tempts Madison, is forbidden to her?

I try my best to remember the time that Madison was that age, the tiredness and frustration I must have felt then. Maybe Geok is just tired and flared up because of that?

Conflict is inevitable when there are SO MANY people around these days in the house. Makes me want to avoid going there. But it's unfair to deny Madison her grandparents, her uncle, and even her new cousin. Especially her doting grandmother.

Sigh. How do people overcome conflict at home? Maintain peace without feeling cheated? Only in parenthood would I sacrifice my freedom so that my daughter gets the best out of being in an extended family.

My conflict is also how to make sure Madison is not denied her rights, and yet not cross paths with my sister. I can only imagine this is the start of a longer drawn out battle!