The in laws have been coming over to our place almost every weekend and lo is already 2 years old. Always buy a lot of ingredients (fish/ meat etc) (when I told them not to) and started doing household chores like it's their own house! I know they are nice BUT!!! Sometimes I really hope they don't meddle so much. Sigh. So Weekends ended up staying home that we don't have our own personal family time at all / too tired to go out after their visit. I feel very frustrated and seems to have no other way to stop them since it's their first grandchild. I also can't stand that they insist on speaking in English (very broken ones). when LO can understand mandarin perfectly fine. Then I need to re-teach LO again that the English used was wrong. How to let them know in a tactful way? Am I the only one thinking that way?? ?

I feel you... but I am trying to see it from the positive side albeit being a bit irritated at times. Our routine is to go over to my in-laws' place every Sat evening for dinner. My mil will without fail call up every Friday evening ard same time to (1) chope us for dinner for Sat night (2) tell us that she will go to the market sat am to buy fish n meat (for me to cook for my lo - who is their first grandchild). When they do come over, my hubby ensures he is in command, tells my mil to sit down n be a guest n not meddle around. He is firm on that. My fil never lifts his fingers to do chores so i m not worried abt him fussing ard in my place. So, make it a routine, plan to go over every Sat am or Sun am etc.. (we skip sun Pm bec we have pre monday blues)... Abt speaking in broken English, just ask ur spouse to 'mediate' and tell his parents to talk in mandarin to ur child. if we talk, we are deemed as disrespectful n rude... tell u smtg funny, i detest baby talk with saying everything twice... like my mil fil will say sit sit, eat eat, ball ball... then the ultimate was when we were outside, they pointed to a mynah n told me daughter... "bird bird". i couldnt stop laughing n cringing if u know what i mean. So mommy u are not alone. all the best!

Agree that it's rather intrusive to get your inlaws around every weekend. Why not switch tactics and go over for an hour or two every weekend instead? This way you can spend time alone in your house, or you get to go out after the small outing to their place. You can always give the excuse that it's better for you guys to go over so that LO knows that is grandpa/grandma house and knows that every week have to visit.

There are 2 days in a weekend. Which day do they come? If once a week, I think it's fine. But if it's twice a week then it's abit too much. Can restrict to once a week. What they're doing sounds quite ok la.. Not so bad. As for broken English.... if ur toddler is only exposed to it once a week, it won't really affect him. Just correct his English if he says something in broken English.