Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange
Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [netherlands]

Questions that have a specific focus on people in the Netherlands or Dutch culture.

Some questions require answers that may be specific to a certain region and so this is when this tag (and also other location tags such as or ) should be used. When using this tag it is presumed that the culture/situation reflects that of the average Dutch person.

This tag should be used along with other tags that describe the situation which you find yourself in (such as )

87 questions
136
votes
18 answers

How can I stop enabling my brothers without my mom exploding?

My parents are away from home for little private holidays on a quite regular basis (once every 2/3 months), where they leave me home alone with my 2 brothers for 2-5 days. I'm a 26-year-old female, my brothers are 22 and 16. Since I joined IPS, I…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
125
votes
8 answers

Requesting someone to give up their seat to me on public transport if I have an invisible disability?

I have an invisible disability. I do not really want to disclose what it is, but I have trouble standing up on public transport for longer than a few minutes. I would like to sit down. Now, the bus/tram/train is full. I’m a young adult, barely out…
Belle
  • 8,020
  • 10
  • 35
  • 57
111
votes
15 answers

How can I handle my father challenging everything I say?

I live with my parents. My father likes to challenge nearly everything I say, up to the point of ridiculousness. I can prove many of the things he challenges but not immediately. In most cases his disagreements with my comments are off-topic. They…
Belle
  • 8,020
  • 10
  • 35
  • 57
94
votes
17 answers

How to handle people blocking your view and breaking the rules at the theater by not sitting in their assigned seats?

A while ago, my parents/brothers and I went to visit a theatre performance (in The Netherlands, where we live). We booked really nice first class tickets with empty seats in front of us. We booked them very last-minute, hoping we would be lucky, and…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
90
votes
8 answers

Dealing with somebody who's ignoring my very existence

Background I have a group of friends, and we've known each other for about 7 years now. We once all were colleagues. One of these friends, Alice, has an autism spectrum disorder. This friend got fired from our workplace. During the period when she…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
80
votes
15 answers

How do I stress that having children is not an option when picking a date?

I have had some issues that have convinced me that I will never try and have/raise kids (either my own or those of someone else). This, however, leads to some serious problems when dating/having a relationship with people. I always make it a case…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
78
votes
5 answers

Offering to share my umbrella without sounding creepy

Yesterday afternoon I (male, late 30) went to the supermarket in my neighborhood to buy something. Since the sky was menacing rain, I took along an umbrella. Lucky me, when I got out from the supermarket it was raining, so I opened the umbrella and…
UmbrellaMan
  • 651
  • 1
  • 5
  • 4
76
votes
10 answers

Friend keeps making jokes about my ethnicity which are not funny

My parents are from India, but I was born and raised in the Netherlands (which is where I still live). I am in university and a friend keeps making jokes about the fact that I am of Indian descent. The problem is, the jokes are simply not funny.…
Q.Q
  • 711
  • 1
  • 5
  • 6
75
votes
9 answers

How to redirect a real-life help vampire to an alternate source of food... um... assistance?

I've recently had some troubles with a help-vampire in the office. She's about my age (late twenties), from India and she doesn't speak Dutch. She works in the same office as me, but not on the same project/team. She was hired on a recommendation by…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
66
votes
8 answers

How can I suggest to someone that he may potentially be colourblind?

My colleague recently had a disagreement with a client about the colour of two items. The client claimed both items were the same colour, while to my colleague one was red and one was green. I can confirm that the two items were indeed red and…
Belle
  • 8,020
  • 10
  • 35
  • 57
64
votes
9 answers

How to deal with a dangerous, developmentally disabled person I can not avoid?

On my way to work, I cannot help but encountering a developmentally disabled person who harasses me and other women. How can I deal with him? Background I have been taking the same train to work each day for about 2 years now. A developmentally…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
59
votes
5 answers

Which pitfalls should I watch out for when meeting my half-brother who hasn't been aware of my existence for 25 years?

I've been adopted at early age and have no recollection of my biological parents. My adoptive parents have told me at a young age that I was adopted. Because this fact became integrated into my life so early on, it was a very normal subject for me…
Marc Dingena
  • 613
  • 1
  • 5
  • 8
56
votes
8 answers

How can I more clearly ask people to accommodate for my autism?

I've got autism. This isn't always clear to people*. Sometimes I need accommodations for a sensory issue to participate in a normal way. One time, there was a colleague with a strong aftershave, for example, who needed my help. Sometimes these…
Belle
  • 8,020
  • 10
  • 35
  • 57
54
votes
9 answers

How can I express my concerns about my underage brother drinking alcoholic beverages to him without sounding like I'm his mom?

So, recently my youngest brother (he's 16, I'm 26) had a party of a classmate. Mom and dad did allow him to go, and he did just fine. He lived by the rules, he sent a message when he arrived safely and one when he started the bicycle ride back, was…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
53
votes
6 answers

How can I handle a co-worker awkwardly forcing herself into conversations?

Background: I've recently started working on a new project, in a team of around 10 people. I'm the only female on that team, but the guys are awesome and it's a great, fun group of people to work with. Once a week, we work at a location where…
Tinkeringbell
  • 33,125
  • 24
  • 121
  • 167
1
2 3 4 5 6