Dear Ann Landers,
A mother who becomes involved in the petty squabbles of her children is more childish than they. Ask your wife to please wait until you get home before she "does any-thing." By then the trouble will have been settled-by the kids. 149 Dear Ann: My in-laws are both seventy-three. My husband and I have dinner with them every week. For the past several months my father-in-law has not been acting very fatherly. He never does anything out of the way in the presence of his wife or my husband. He manages to get me in the kitchen or in the back hall. When I was dating I knew how to deal with char-acters who sneaked up and planted an unwanted kiss on the back of my neck. I belted them one and I never had any trouble after that. What should I do in this case? If my hus-band knew he'd be wild.-Disgusted

Dear D,
You can't belt a seventy-three-year-old man, par-ticularly a father-in-law. Call on your sense of humor to save the day. Nickname him "Old Love In Bloom" and keep it loud and funny-and out in the open. Dear Ann: Bob is twenty-seven. I am twenty-four. We have been married two years and expect our first child any minute. Last night Bob's older sister telephoned to say her daughter Barbara, aged seventeen, was in tears. Barbara's date broke his leg and couldn't take her to an important high-school dance. She asked Bob if he'd be a lifesaver and take Barbara. He replied, "I'd love to." I don't feel a married man has any business at a high-school dance. Furthermore, this is no time for him to leave me alone. He says I am narrow-minded and jealous. If you tell me I am wrong, I will apologize.-P.G. Wife Dear Wife: Your husband belongs at a high-school dance like a skunk belongs at a lawn party. If he goes, I hope the stork drops the bundle while he is out bugalooing with the kids. It would serve him right.