Daily Times

Dear Mathira & Rose,

I want to ask something! What would you do if your mother-in-law calls your little one an eight-month-old baby a lizard because he is skinny? She often calls him a chick, irritating, a weak child but today she called him a lizard. When I tell her off, she starts crying and says she calls him these words lovingly.

Regards,

Irritated

Mathira’s Advice:

My son was a really chubby kid and I used to hate it when people even lovingly said, “He’s so fat, I want to eat him.” Some used to say, “I’ll eat his legs or cheeks as he’s so fat,” and I used to get really pissed off. I used to tell my mother and my sister to tell people to stop saying stuff like this. But you know what, the elderly, who belong to a different generation, joke like this. My grandmother for some reason used to call me “Taimur Baba.” Later, when I put on weight as a child, she started calling me “Adnan Sami.” My mom used to hate that but my grandmother only did it out of love. So, sometimes you just have to turn a deaf ear and ignore. It’s okay to do that. Let her say her stuff, there’s no need to create a ruckus at home. Our grandparents are too old and sometimes they can’t even distinguish between right and wrong. So maybe it’s out of love and you need to relax.

If you want sisterly advice on any issue, DM me @real_mathira

Rose’s Advice:

The last I checked, one’s not supposed to call a baby names and she sounds like a very shrewd and a very illiterate sort of a woman. You need stop her there and then because this name calling is just going to get out of hand. Calling her own grandchild, a lizard just because he’s comparatively a delicate baby just goes to show that she doesn’t have any loving feelings for him. It’s good that you stood up for your baby. She cried when you reacted just to steer clear of any guilt. Maybe, you should give her a taste of her own medicine. Just give it to her flat by telling her that the next time she called your baby an offensive name, she’ll see your worst side. This isn’t how it’s going to be that she calls an eight-month-old baby by the name of a reptile. No matter how much animal friendly you are, when you call a person by the name of one, there’s an entire different meaning to it. Babies are so beautiful and they come in different complexions as Allah has created them.

If you want sisterly advice on any issue, DM me @rosemohammed777