Our Daughter Recently Married: When My Husband Gave Her a Flat, the Groom’s Mother Was Outraged and …

Our daughter has recently gotten married to a young man who may not come from a wealthy family, but is certainly down-to-earth and has his head screwed on right. My wife and I werent exactly over the moon about it, but it was her decision, so we supported her.

To mark the occasion, I gave our daughter a lovely flat, so she and her new husband wouldnt have to bother with renting. They were very pleased, and so were her in-laws. Every time the grooms parents visited, they gushed about how nice the place was.

After a while, though, my daughter started ringing me, saying her mother-in-law was always around she couldnt even ring her mates in peace. Most recently, the mother-in-law came up with the suggestion that she and her whole family should be registered at my daughters flat. That way, she argued, she could pack up, sell her own home, and use the money to buy a bigger flat for the lot of themone that would be shared, because she thought everything in a family ought to be shared.

Naturally, my daughter politely declined. She told me it was an odd request, but her mother-in-law wouldnt let the matter drop. First, shed phone constantly with declarations about family, and then there were veiled threats and guilt trips. She accused my daughter of not loving her son enough, threatened to get a divorce herself, and even to take the flat away from them. Her son tried to keep the peace, but it was clear his mother wasnt listening.

My wife and I decided it was better to let the newlyweds stand on their own at first, but when our daughter started ringing in tears, we knew we had to step in.

Im not a man to mince my words. I visited her mother-in-law myself, told her straight to leave our daughter alone, and let slip that the police would be our next stop if she carried on. She quieted down immediately and insisted wed misunderstood her, that she only wanted what was best for my daughter.

Thankfully, since then our daughter hasnt had any more trouble, and shes much happier now.

The whole episode taught me that sometimes, as much as you want the young ones to sort things on their own, a bit of parental intervention goes a long wayespecially when it protects their happiness.