Grandparents have bold response when daughter forces them to babysit teen grandson during their anniversary weekend
Quite a few times, people have to put themselves first, even if their loved ones do not like this "new side." A couple found themselves in such a situation when their daughter wanted them to babysit her teen son during their anniversary weekend on short notice. The grandmom, u/Puzzleheaded-Oil6161, shared how she was forced to take a firm stand against her daughter's demand and asked people on Reddit if she was wrong in this situation.
"A little backstory: so we have 3 adult kids, each with children of their own. We have always helped each of them at one time or another with babysitting or financial issues," the grandmom shared. The couple had been babysitting their 5-year-old granddaughter for the past six months, so her mom could pursue an apprenticeship out of state. "In the month of May, her mom will come to get her and it happens to be our wedding anniversary weekend, so yay!" The grandparents were looking forward to celebrating for three days without the kids. "Then I have to leave with them out of State to provide daycare until one is secured, which could be one or two months," the grandmom further added.
The couple was having a conversation with their other daughter about her sister's situation. The daughter needed her parents to watch her 14-year-old son during their free weekend because she bought tickets for a music festival in Los Angeles. "She never asked, just told me that day. I said, well, that's our anniversary weekend and we have dinner reservations already," the grandmom continued. She pointed out that she was looking forward to having a couple of days without kids before she would have to leave her husband for a month or two. The daughter insisted they could leave the boy alone at their house, as he would take care of himself. However, the grandparents were uncomfortable leaving the teenager alone as their house was in a rural part of San Diego.
The conversation ended at that time, and the mother texted her daughter and asked her if she needed them to babysit the teen for one day and what the exact dates would be. Also, she reminded her daughter of their anniversary plans. "Then she says it’s for 4 days! And that she has a long-distance relationship and only gets to see him 2 times a month," the grandmom recounted. The daughter also remarked that she had it really hard watching three kids as a single parent. "After that, going back and forth, she ended up cussing me out and that was it." The grandmom asked people if she was wrong in this situation.
People supported the grandparents in the comment. u/Avalon_Angel525 wrote, "Please, don't fold! If you allow this on your anniversary, she will know she can do this whenever she likes, no matter the circumstances." u/Then-Chocolate-5191 commented, "If she wanted you to watch her son, she should have asked well in advance, not assumed." u/JTBlakeinNYC remarked, "Your daughter shouldn’t have made those plans without arranging for childcare first. You aren’t a 24/7 365-day child drop-off center, but that’s how you are being treated. Please have a wonderful time on your anniversary and start planning more fun activities for yourself and your husband."