October 2, 2025 at 7:15 pm

He Wants To Go To His Grandparents’ House For A Cookout, But His Baby’s “Honorary Grandparents” Also Invited Them To The Event

by Jayne Elliott

happy grandparents holding grandchild

Shutterstock/Reddit

When you don’t live close to your family, sometimes friends and neighbors fill the roles of siblings, parents and grandparents.

Imagine having a baby and meeting an older couple who takes a liking to your baby and even considers themselves “honorary grandparents.” That might seem nice, but where do you draw the line when the baby’s real grandparents want to spend time with him?

That’s that situation the dad in this story is facing, and he’s not sure if he made the right decision.

Keep reading for all the details.

AITA for putting my foot down about my sons “honorary grandparents”

My son just turned 2 months and he got his vaccinations, so of course I let people know we were comfortable with bringing him to their houses for small gatherings so they could meet him.

His grandma and grandpa (my parents) have both met him just once each since then.

My fiancee had met an older man and his wife through work last year. They became close, but I don’t really know them that well, besides small conversations here and there.

She has taken our son to their place quite often the past few weeks, and they’ve stopped by ours, and shes been calling them “honorary grandparents.”

But now the couple has gotten into an argument about whose BBQ to attend.

I like them, I really don’t have a problem with them at all, however today my Grandma messaged me about coming over for a holiday cookout, my parents will be there too so my son will see them again.

But she kept insisting she wanted to go to these other people’s house for THEIR cookout.

I told her I didn’t want to, my grandparents are bordering 90s and I want them to spend as much time with my kid as possible.

He tried to compromise.

She got mad. I got mad.

I told her if she wanted to go to their cookout she could after we go to my families.

She wants to go there all day to go out on their boat and blow off fireworks.

And I finally just said no. I told her if she wants to go to their cookout she could, but me and our son were going to my grandparents.

He got his way, but not everyone is happy about it.

And she finally relented.

The “honorary grandparents” are mad, but i told them they see him all the time, and I don’t care that they do, but today is my families day with him.

Was I the jerk??

The real grandparents take priority over the “honorary grandparents.” It’s not even a question.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person is on the dad’s side.

Screenshot 2025 09 08 at 10.58.41 AM 1 He Wants To Go To His Grandparents House For A Cookout, But His Babys Honorary Grandparents Also Invited Them To The Event

This person would be concerned about taking a baby on a boat all day.

Screenshot 2025 09 08 at 10.58.59 AM He Wants To Go To His Grandparents House For A Cookout, But His Babys Honorary Grandparents Also Invited Them To The Event

Another person thinks the honorary grandparents situation doesn’t make sense.

Screenshot 2025 09 08 at 10.59.11 AM He Wants To Go To His Grandparents House For A Cookout, But His Babys Honorary Grandparents Also Invited Them To The Event

Everyone seems to agree that the real grandparents should take priority.

Screenshot 2025 09 08 at 10.59.29 AM He Wants To Go To His Grandparents House For A Cookout, But His Babys Honorary Grandparents Also Invited Them To The Event

Conflicting invitations can sometimes feel like a competition for who matters most.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.