Ever feel like you are stuck in the middle between your dh and your child? I do all the time with my dh and my almost 15 yr old dd!!! He is always so hard on her. I think he expects her to be like our oldest, and she is not at all! But he won't just talk to her directly, I always have to be the go between. She wants a dog soooo bad and he does not want another one, so she is pouting and he refuses to deal with it, and I end up in the middle again!

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~Happiness is a large family~

Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1:19

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

I don't know about other aspects of their relationship, so I'm not taking dh's side per se, but I'm not sure how you want him to "deal" with her pouting. I personally don't "deal" with pouting. It annoys me to no end so I ignore it. Maybe you should just not insert yourself in the middle and if pouting gets her no where, then she'll have to either learn a better way to let him know what she wants or deal with the fact she can't have another dog just because she wants one....either one a good lesson. Some times my kids will complain because they want something and I just say, "You can have that once you're out on your own and supporting yourself". Maybe try that!

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The problem is that he won't just tell her no. He will let her think that he might say yes. Yesterday he told her to have me look at the puppy, thinking I would say no.

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~Happiness is a large family~

Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1:19

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

Ohhhh.....well then you two should sit down alone and decide whether you want her to have the dog, and then both sit down together and tell her what you two decided. Then nobody's in the middle and she can't play one against the other, and one of you isn't the bad guy. Everything's out in the open. See, no matter what the situation, I'm just filled with good advice and dying to give it to you. Not known for my lack of opinion.

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Ok, I listen to my husband, I ask him opinions, I don't do stuff behind his back, BUT, if he told my daughter to have me look at puppies, (unless I myself didn't want her to have a new puppy) I would be taking her to get one. That is crazy! I would be irritate myself. Thank goodness my hubby has no problem saying no.
Sometimes I feel in the middle between my hubby and son. The son is just so unpleasant at times, and I get to listen to hubby complain to me about it.

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"The Christian does not think that God will love us because we are good, but God will make us good because he loves us."- C.S. Lewis

Okay, they have both calmed down and they could see how upset I was about it and the two of them actually talked. Dh told dd that she could get a lab puppy after we sell our two puppies that we have left. He decided that he did not want to have the one she wanted because it was a Rottweiler/husky mix and he just does not trust rottweilers. They are both happy now and harmony is restored in my household. Now if we could just do something with the oldest dd

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~Happiness is a large family~

Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1:19

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24