My brother assumes our teenage niece will watch the younger cousins in his pool. Can I insist on an adult plan?
Family“She's the best swimmer here,” my brother said when I asked who would be watching the younger children in his pool.
He is hosting a barbecue. Our seventeen-year-old niece wants to swim with her cousins, but he has also told her to keep an eye on the four younger children while the adults prepare food and catch up. She didn't volunteer for that job. The youngest is five.
I kept my children out of the pool while we discussed it. My brother thinks I am criticising his party and says everyone will be nearby. Some adults are having drinks, and nobody has agreed to remain beside the water with supervision as their sole task.
My niece says she would rather help bring food out than be responsible for deciding when everyone can swim.
How do we keep the family afternoon while making the supervision arrangement clear before the children go in?