My oldest is having his birthday party Saturday. My husband's family that lives around here is fairly small and one of the cousins has a boy my son's age so we have invited the cousins and their families. The problem is with one of the cousins who has a little boy who is a terror. My youngest is almost four and doesn't get into things so my house is no longer childproof by any strech of the imagination. This kid is 19 months and in the last 2 weeks has eaten a good amount of tylenol and downed part of a bottle of hand sanitizer so I'm a little freaked about them coming (to be honest I don't like the wife so I would have rather not invited them 
).
I have chemicals up high anyway but it's everything else that I don't know what to do with, from what's been said this kid can't stay out of ANYTHING and I don't need him digging out games, emptying bookshelves or whatever else he decides to do. I have a fairly open floor plan so I can't shut off the kitchen, living room or dining room and I need help.
Thanks.
got one word for ya about this kid... Benadryl! It'll knock him right out for an early nap. Only kidding.
You don't like the mom so approach the dad about how "unsafe" your house is and if they still wish to come and/or bring the the little terror then it is their responsibility to police him. Also tell them that you will not be held responsible if their son gets hurt or poisons himself and that if he damages anything their will be held responsible for replacement of the item (don't except money, make them work to find the exact item as well as pay for it!). Define for them that being in the same general area as their son is not good enough, he must be within arms reach at all times!
I have had to tell a parent that one kid was invited but the other was not because they were too destructive to my property and required too much of my attention to monitor, not fair to me or the other guests.
I know how you feel. My children never got into much, but some of their cousins......
Since it was dh's family, I told him that it was pretty much up to him. You need to keep a watch on these children and remind their parents to watch them. It's always worked out ok that way.
I got to the point where if I know they're coming, I'll put some toys, etc. way up or away b/c they're known to break things.
Maybe you could casually say to the parents, We're not babyproofed anymore and I know how toddlers can be. We just wanted to let you know b/c we want everyone to have fun and be safe.
Other than that I have no idea what to tell you. I'll think about this some and write more if I can think of it.
The child is their responsibility.
Hopefully some other CC member can come to the rescue.
Good Luck!
Do you still have any babygates to attempt to block the stairs or hallway to the bedrooms? I would do that and also lock all bedroom doors, that way he can't sneak away from the party & wreck someone's bedroom. If your bedroom doors are the kind with the push button lock, all you need is a paperclip to open them from the outside. For the bathrooms I'd get a cheap hook & eye latch to put up high on the doorframe so adults can open it but no child can get in.
I totally agree with the others - be very blunt and tell the parents your house is not toddler proofed anymore, and they need to keep a close eye on their kid. I'd tell them that more than once & tell the parents that they will need to clean up after him because you'll be "busy with the party." How old are the older kids? I'm sure they won't mind being in charge of ratting this kid out when he's doing something he's not supposed to do.
-Lisa
Now I know it wasn't just me about them needing to keep a better eye on him, I didn't want to say that since it sounds mean 
. I'll have my husband talk to his father, that's the cousin and they're pretty close.
No more baby gates, my youngest could climb over them when he was really tiny and they broke.
The kids at the party will be between the ages of 19 month (holy terror) and 8. I hate shutting the bedrooms up because kids like to go play in them sometimes during a party, my youngest doesn't like big crowds and one of the kids coming is about his age so they might want to go there to play. I can't lock the bathroom up, I have cats and the litter box is in there and I don't want messes from them either.
Thanks for the advice. 
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