My mother has a friend who talks and complaints all the time about her grown children. She lives in the basement of her divorced son and she also has an adult daughter. She will talk about any marriage trouble the son had with his ex-wife, something her children may have said and she turns it into something awful, that they spend too much money, etc, etc. Im sure she does this to gain attention and sympathy, but I cannot believe that her children are not aware that their mother does so not only when she is on the phone with her friends but also when she has visitors over to the house. This must hurt her children to no end as it not only shows disrespect for them but the fact that she is making her childrens business everyone elses. Please dont believe that you can talk about someone that you actually live with and believe that they are not aware of it, whether it is your child, your spouse or a friend. I also believe that something you may do or say today will end up hurting you more so in the end.