Asking Eric: How do we talk to our neighbors about their baffling parking routine?

Dear Eric My husband and I live in a beautiful gated society with wonderful neighbors Related Articles Asking Eric I m ready to leave my wife over her dodgy expenditure Asking Eric My girlfriend thinks I had an affair with a woman from church and so do her friends Asking Eric He has every detail of their wedding planned but he won t propose Asking Eric I think I mentioned the wrong thing to this mom at the pool Asking Eric I realized where I knew my date from and the horrible memory came rushing back In the past few days the home next door to us sold and new neighbors moved in The new neighbors are a very friendly couple and my husband and I welcomed them to the neighborhood with a small housewarming gift They are retired as are we Since they moved in several months ago they have developed a daily routine that confuses us and we are trying to figure out how to address the issue Early every morning the new neighbors back their car out of their driveway and park it in front of our house They have room to park their car in front of their own home but choose to park it in front of our home We do not have any trees that would offer shade for their car nor do they The car is left parked in front of our house all day until evening and then relocated back to their driveway This takes place seven days a week We have seen no visitors use their driveway and it remains vacant all day We understand that the street is society and everyone is allowed to park in front of our home The only reason this bothers us is because our kitchen faces the front of our house just like the new neighbors home and we like to enjoy the vista while having our meals and now all we see is a Ford I narrated my husband that maybe we have too much time on our hands and should just ignore the parking routine or do you think this would bother other homeowners as well Want to be a Good Neighbor Dear Neighbor Kudos to you for being so even-keeled about this In another version of this letter you and your husband would be incensed and I d have to talk you down so as not to start a neighborhood war Frankly your neighbor s habit seems like a lot of work But maybe they like to tinker on projects in their garage every day and need the room A simple and relatively conflict-free explanation to your issue might be to ask if they d park in a different spot on the street during the day mentioning that you miss the unobstructed view This way you don t involve the opinions of the other neighbors and you keep this request simple It makes it easy then for them to say yes Everybody wins Dear Eric While my son and daughter-in-law are raising their children quite differently from how I parented I feel they are loving and caring and I have expressed my aid to them However there is one behavior that I really struggle with The children and interrupt conversations between adults with their own questions or wishes Look at my Barbie I want potato chips and the parents inevitably drop the adult conversations and engage with the child to the extent of leaving the room with the child and leaving the adult me sitting waiting to see if or when we ll return to our chat I feel disrespected and as if the exchange was not fundamental I have tried to redirect the children myself saying Yes I d love to color with you I am talking to your mom right now but I will come to you in five minutes This goes nowhere and does not curb the interruptions The parents don t back my efforts It seems to me that they believe the child s need invariably takes priority whereas I view teaching a child to wait patiently and take turns is an significant social skill Help How can I make peace with this situation Grandma on Hold Dear Grandma Though this practice wouldn t be your choice and sets a precedent with the kids that could lead to entitled pre-teens try to remove your feeling of being disrespected from the equation Your son and daughter-in-law are managing hundreds of large and small decisions as they try to parent in a way that s responsible and responsive to their children While it s your opinion that adult conversations ought not take a backseat to the requirements and wants of the child when they choose a different tactic they re not doing it because conversations with Grandma aren t significant but rather because in their view every conversation has equal weight Related Articles Dear Abby The minister s surprise marriage left me hurt and heartbroken Asking Eric I m ready to leave my wife over her dodgy expenditure Harriette Cole My wife has several words about our friends blatant sponging Miss Manners Is it OK to flee an introduction to an odious person Dear Abby Every day he commented he was going to his job but I revealed out it was a lie In short just let them It can feel sometimes like these differences in parenting styles are subtle or not-so-subtle referendums on the choices you made in parenting Try to see it more expansively They re parenting in a different world and in a different context But you raised your son in a way that empowers him to make decisions even decisions that in your view aren t the best Send questions to R Eric Thomas at eric askingeric com or P O Box Philadelphia PA Follow him on Instagram oureric and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas com