Touchy Feely FIL


My father-in-law is the nicest man and seems to always mean well. We have a very good respectful relationship. The one thing that irks me is he’s a touchy, feely type of person, meaning he’ll hold or touch you a little too long for comfort. I noticed it immediately when I first got to know him and am able to dodge them pretty well but it bothers me when I see him be touchy-feely with my 5-year old daughter. That’s his granddaughter and he’s very good to her. I do not want to imply he has any bad intentions (I do not know his intentions) but it drives me crazy when I see him hold or touch her just a bit too long. My daughter is very sweet and loves the attention so she puts herself on his lap or leans on him a lot. He used to kiss her hello on the lips and I snapped at him not to do that. To my knowledge, he never did again. I am very protective of her. I don’t know if I’m creating scenarios in my head because I’ve seen one too many Law & Order SVU episodes. My problem is I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know how to model this.