[Andrea]

Perhaps a reminder to the pre-teen's father about how hard it is to be seen in public with your parents at that age. Throw in parents marching to a different drummer and the embarrassment (coupled with possible bullying) could feel devastating to the child.

Have the father and child had a heart to heart open discussion about this?

I would find some alone time with your nephew and tell him nearly all parents do something to embarrass their children. Some more painful than others. Make yourself available to your nephew whenever he needs someone to talk to.

This may not be your cup of tea and it may not be how you would handle things but your nephew should make it to adulthood with a minimal amount of therapy even with this in his life.

As to your discomfort and the fainting..... ummm... I think I would avoid them if possible. I certainly wouldn't enable the drama queen's fainting spells by offering attention.

Good luck with this,
Andrea