Every couple has their own parenting methods and while some work well, others might be a little too harsh.

This woman’s in laws have rough parenting methods and they don’t even spare their granddaughter. This is causing a lot of drama between the parents and grandparents.

Find out how things got bitter between this family.

AITA for not letting my in-laws discipline our child?

My husband Ronan (32M) and I (29F) have one daughter (3).

We’ve always had very clear and well established parenting that works well for us and for her.

Enter my in-laws.

This is where it gets rough…

Prior to having our daughter, we’ve began to see them more frequently – tends to be around ten times a month, whereas before then it would be maybe once/twice, because Ronan has a reasonably strained relationship with them (particularly his mum).

For context, this is because she was one of those people who couldn’t let him have his own privacy, constantly looking through his room, asking where/when/with who he was going even into late teens, things like that.

Their parenting approach is different than the grandparents’ approach…

He never completely cut contact but they’ve been better since we had our daughter and he didn’t want to completely cut them out of being grandparents.

They’ve always had a different approach to discipline than we do (another reason why Ronan has a strained relationship) and it’s very shouty/punishment based. Raised voices, very “tough love”, while we tend to prefer calm discussions, occasional time-outs, and natural consequences.

Our daughter’s a pretty good kid though, she doesn’t tend to act out a lot and usually is more than happy just doing her own thing.

She simply wanted to play with her toy…

Yesterday we went to go and see his parents, and she had a tantrum over her grandad taking her favourite toy from her because ‘she’s too old for it now’.

Before I could step in, Ronan’s mum had raised her voice and said ‘Behave or else!’.

I tried to remain calm with the situation and told them that we won’t discipline her that way, and asked that they leave any disciplinary actions to Ronan and I to deal with.

They were offended and said that we were coddling her, and that their methods are ‘tried and true’. They also accused us of being too soft and that we don’t know what we’re doing.

He knew he had to take action!

Ronan stepped in and said that it was our daughter, and we’d raise her how we believe best.

We left shortly after this and his in-laws think that I was overreacting and that I’m the problem.

I just want what’s best for our daughter.

So, AITA for not letting them discipline our daughter? Should I have handled this differently? Thanks for reading & any suggestions.

Geez! How can the grandparents be so mean towards their granddaughter? She just wanted her toy!

Check out what the Reddit community has to say about this one.

This user knows these parents are doing a decent job with a three year old.

This user wants to give the in laws a taste of their own medicine.

This user suggests getting the husband some therapy as well.

This user thinks this couple has way too much patience.

This user thinks the in laws don’t have a say in the kid’s toys.

These grandparents sound cruel!

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.