Annie’s Mailbox: You cannot fix daughter’s life

Dear Annie: My daughter and her children live in a small home with three dogs and three cats. She doesn’t work, and her husband has been on disability leave for a year.

It breaks my heart to see them living in squalor and poverty. My daughter was not raised like this, and it sickens me that she is OK with her circumstances. She and her husband have a choice, but the kids do not. We have helped (maybe too much), but it seems nothing makes a difference. Our daughter gets defensive if we say anything. She was always so practical and used good common sense prior to marrying this guy. She got wonderful grades in school, set goals and had dreams, but not now.

Her husband has been let go of several jobs, but it’s never his fault. Just about every word he says is untrue. I just hate the thought of our grandchildren growing up with these values. We love our daughter and her family and would do anything in the world for the grandchildren, but it gets harder to deal with each day. What can we do? – Worried and Disappointed Grandparents

Dear Worried: Your daughter gets to live her own life, even if it means she chooses to live in squalor. Whatever work ethic you may have instilled in her has apparently been forgotten. You cannot fix it, so say nothing more about it. You can, however, be supportive of the grandchildren. Offer to take them for the afternoon, weekend visits, vacation trips, whatever you can manage, and let them see what a well-balanced home looks like. Say nothing negative about her husband or her home. You might casually ask if she’d like a cleaning service as a gift because, after all, everyone could use a hand now and then. If she sees that you don’t intend it as a judgment on her housekeeping skills, she will be more receptive.