Becoming a parent comes with a lot of changes in someone’s life, but one of the biggest is the loss of free time that results from the constant attention a young child needs.
Because of this, new parents are often in desperate need of a babysitter. If not for an overdue date night then simply for a moment to themselves!
But apparently some parents can be their own worst enemies in this regard.
One of those parents is the Mom in this story, who was confused when her high-maintenance rules scared away all of her potential babysitters!
The question is, was her Mom in the wrong for giving it to her straight when she asked why no one would help her?
AITA for telling my daughter the reason she doesn’t have a village is due to being overbearing
My daughter (29) has one child named Sally. We have a large family with a lot of aunts and uncles. At the beginning everyone was super happy to help out and be the village.
The problem started when my daughter started having issues with every single thing they did when helping her out.
At first it was big things that should be respected (like respecting nap time) but overtime it started to get smaller and smaller.
It got to the point where she was nickpicky just to nickpick.
Being careful about your kid is definitely understandable, but its important to remember some grace for the people helping you out!
When ever someone would babysit or help her out she would be texting them constantly or basically be hovering over their shoulder.
Some examples: Aunt Jen’s basement isn’t safe even though the kid doesn’t go into her basement.
Or someone washed the dirty baby clothes with the wrong softener; or the most common, food wasn’t correct ( always too hot or too cold). The list goes on and on.
To make it worse she has an attitude that she is the one doing us a favor by letting us anywhere near Sally, instead of realizing we are doing her a favor by helping out with her daughter.
I have talked to her about this before.
But OP’s daughter was soon facing the consequences when the list of those available to babysit was looking a little light!
I understand she is a first time parent but it is very frustrating. It’s all her way and she won’t except anything else.
It got to the point where the family doesn’t help her anymore, they were tired of her nickpicking everything they do and where they do it.
She complained that no one was helping her, and basically said that they all suck.
I told her the reason she doesn’t have a village anymore is due to her being so overbearing.
She called me a jerk and hasn’t answered my texts. AITA?
Gotta admit, if I was a new parent I would be looking for any moment of rest I could get my hands on, not scaring all my potential babysitters away!
Reddit was on grandma’s side, with this commenter pointing out how frustrating OP’s story is when there are so many families who need help watching their little ones.
And many people wondered how she would even know about some of these ridiculous conditions in the first place.
This astute Redditor suggested OP’s daughter be tested for postpartum anxiety.
This user thought that while it was tough love, it was definitely tough love the daughter needed to hear.
And finally, this user pointed out how different rules and parenting styles can actually be good for a child.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you people.
As long as your kids are safe, a free babysitter is a good babysitter!
If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.