Why the family conflicts now??

[SheilaT]

7. The inability to think critically is at the heart of all this.

It would be one thing if they offered reasoned arguments for what they say, but that's not what's going on here. Kids are not taught to reason even in the best public schools. If they're lucky, they might get that in college. Then again, fi they go for career training, such as medicine or computer programming and so on, they also won't be taught critical reasoning skills. And that's with all due respect to doctors, nurses, computer programmers, and all such wonderful and necessary people in our society.

The right kind of philosophy classes teach critical reasoning, and maybe law school.

I think all the idiot "libertarians" need to be reminded constantly that Somalia is a Libertarian Paradise. And that Saudi Arabia or Iran or theocracies.

Keep in mind, you had little or nothing to do with how they were raised, and you can't cure them of that.

You are not obligated to stay in a house whose conditions you find bothersome, like the cats and dog. It's a shame their child is being raised in these circumstances, but unless things are so bad that you can legitimately call Child Protective Services, all you can do is keep quite. Maybe offer a mild suggestion or two, but nothing more.

Suggest you meet somewhere else, a sort of neutral territory, when you visit since the animals affect you so badly. You're not asking them to get rid of the animals, just that you can't be there.