Moms Talk: Making Rules for the Grandparents

Last Thursday, a woman was discovered to have left her small grandchild parked near on one of the .

An alert Cici's employee called , who gave the grandmother a talking-to when she came out. She said she'd left the child in the car in 90-degree heat because the child didn't want to go into a store with her.

While the woman was not charged, I wondered what the child's parents thought of the matter. Or if they even knew.

Let's talk about parents and grandparents. Have you or your friends ever had to deal with your child's grandparents not respecting your authority as a parent?

It can be tough laying down the law to people who have been laying it down to you since you were born. Do you get pooh-poohed when you try to set limits?

What problems have you seen or lived with? Even though your best friend's house already looks like a Toys-R-Us exploded in it, does each visit from her kids' Grandma mean yet another present? Or do your child's grandparents roll their eyes over your health and safety concerns on matters like hot cars or bicycle helmets, because that's not how they did it in their day and you kids turned out just fine?

Have you ever seen a grandparent undermine a parent in front of the children on matters like health, safety or discipline?

Where is your line in the sand? How do you negotiate?

Talk amongst yourselves in the comments.

Joining us, as always, is our great Moms Council:

 is our parenting columnist. Julie, a longtime reporter and communications professional, is a first-time mom of a son born in November.

 works in public relations. She and husband Timothy have a daughter, Amara. Monina is also a member of the Disney Moms Panel, one of 15 moms selected nationwide, advising people online about planning Disney vacations.

 is a mom of three children ages 6 and under with her husband, Bill, and they are expecting their fourth child in early 2012. She also works part-time.

 is a native of New Jersey. She is a marketing professional who has worked in advertising, market research, vending and equipment companies. She and her husband live in Avon with their two children.

 is a mom to a Girl Scout and lives in Avon.

 is president of Avon Early Childhood PTA. She will also be blogging for Avon Patch. If you're a parent and want to share your experiences raising children in Avon, you, too, can .