Dear Mrs. McVeigh,
We sold our house to a couple who have a two-year-old daughter. The wife asked if she could take have a contractor come over, as I was rushing to pack up to move. As I was upstairs, I heard her two-year-old running around the house, and out of control. I have all white furniture, and it was not covered at that point. To my dismay and disbelief, the mother did not say anything to her daughter, and just let her freely run around the house. This was a few days after the closing, so I know they technically own the house, but I thought it was rude to let the child run around when my family still lived there. I ended up calling our real estate agent and asked her to deal with it. Am I wrong since it was no longer my house, and should I have dealt with the mother myself?
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
As a parent, I understand that two-year-old children run around as part of their development. However, there is no excuse for a parent not trying to stop a child from running around a house. No matter what the circumstance, it can be dangerous for a child to run around a house, and it also is a good way to ruin furniture or other objects. When my children were young, it was not acceptable at my house, let alone someone else’s house. Most people understand how two-year-olds act. It is when the parent does nothing to correct their child that people get frustrated with the situation. I do not think it was wrong of you to ask your real estate agent to step in to help you. A realtor’s job is to be your spokesperson, and this is what you asked her to do.