Childcare is not cheap.
And it’s a real issue in this country currently, well… always.
So when parents can get free help, they tend to take it.
But free help also comes with issues.
Case in point…
Redditor FrowAway223 wanted to discuss her experience and get some feedback. So naturally, she came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
She asked:
“AITA because I won’t buy my MIL a carseat?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“My husband (M[ale] 30) and I (F[emale] 28) have a son (M 19 months).”
“He goes to daycare 3 days a week and usually gets picked up by my grandma (F 78). “
“She is his main caregiver when we are both working.”
“She purchased a carseat, with my help, so that she could pick him up and to have for emergencies.”
“My M[other] I[n] L[aw] (F 63) does not watch my son often.”
“She has stated many times she does not want to have baby things in her car or house.”
“She is our last resort when it comes to babysitting.”
“Yesterday I needed MIL to watch my son after daycare because my grandma had doctor appointments.”
“I asked MIL two weeks in advance so that I didn’t interfere with her schedule.”
“Grandma offered up her carseat because MIL does not have one.”
“MIL was supposed to leave carseat at my house so I could give it back to grandma.”
“She refuses to learn how to put the carseat in her car.”
“She makes my husband or me take it in and out.”
“So she did not return the carseat to grandma.”
“This morning I had to leave my carseat at daycare so grandma could pick up my son.”
“I asked my husband to please talk to MIL about getting a carseat because we are playing musical cars and it’s not fair that she kept grandma’s carseat that grandma paid for.”
“Husband wants me to send the type of carseat to him so he can buy it for MIL.”
“I refused saying she can spend her own money and do her own research on the carseat.”
“Obviously I would make sure it was a safe model before I let her take my son.”
“He says I’m being unreasonable and all I have to do is send the model and he’ll take care of it.”
“Am I the A**hole because I won’t help her get a carseat?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared OP WAS the A**hole.
“If you are using somebody as free childcare, and expect them to drive your child around, buying them a carseat to do so seems entirely reasonable.”
“You’re making that expense back in a couple of days of not having to pay for childcare anyways. YTA.” ~ AnonymousWritings
“But OP is complaining about the ‘musical chairs’ of the car seat.”
“It’s not a one off, and MIL is doing OP a favor to watch the child when grandma can’t or he’s not in daycare.”
“OP needs to but MIL a carseat.” ~ Striking-General-613
“No. The whole thing is she doesn’t want to have to loan her one because it means playing musical car seats.”
“It doesn’t sound like MIL has an issue borrowing.”
“It’s OP that wants her to have her own.”
“As such, this is OP’s problem.”
“OP: YTA. This is your problem.”
“Either keep owning her one or buy her one.”
“But, since she doesn’t have an issue with borrowing one, this is on you.”
“Hell, it would be on you anyway since it’s your kid.” ~ Ok-Mode-2038
“Agree. The reason OP is the AH because her husband wants to take care of it and get the car seat.”
“It is not her MIL asking.”
“OP, I do understand your thought process but you are not hurting MIL by not getting her a carseat.”
“You are hurting your husband as he has made this his problem now and he wants to take care of it.”
“If you want to get back at your MIL, there are better ways to do it.”
“This story is more like going against your husband.” ~ ihatehighfives
“This doesn’t address the other challenges OP brought up.”
“MiL doesn’t want baby things in her car (so she’s unlikely to leave the car seat in there even if they buy her one), and she doesn’t want to learn to put a car seat in correctly.”
“All of this adds up to OP and husband needing to stop looking at MIL as their backup plan for daycare pickup.”
“They need an alternate solution, not an additional car seat.” ~ Obtuse-Angel
“So what is the problem, then, if it’s just a handful of times?”
“If YOU don’t want to play musical carseats a few times a year, then buy her a carseat.”
“Really simple stuff here.”
“You can’t expect her to be your free backup sitter AND provide the carseat for free. YTA.” ~ dividedsky58
“I am a mother myself and I will never understand parents who expect with so much entitlement that having a child means that the grandparents become responsible of it as well (either with their time or with their money).”
“I personally paid for my daughter’s bed and highchair that’s at my mom’s house and never would have imagined asking her to pay for it. YTA.” ~ heyjude2929
“THIS RIGHT HERE. OP is 100% YTA.”
“I was hoping I was missing something because post made her seem ridiculous and petty.”
“BUT then I read her comments and she sounds even worse.”
“OP, you need to get a clue.”
“Simple – if you want MIL to babysit (even as a very last resort) then get her a damn carseat.”
“She’s not responsible for borrowing and returning and setting it up, when she’s DOING YOU A FAVOR!”
“You made a snarky comment elsewhere that perhaps you should never ask MIL to babysit if you God forbid have to get her a car seat.”
“Actually yes, I think that’s probably best given your attitude. YTA.” ~ EmeraldBlueZen
Reddit came back with a few details…
“This is a petty edit: but to go along with her not wanting to do baby things.”
“She refuses to give my son Tylenol when he has an ear infection because he ‘will ruin his kidneys.'”
“And won’t follow guidelines I give her as far as food.”
“Yes I should not have her babysit but when it comes down to me calling off of work or her picking him up from daycare, I would hope she could be a decent person and do me a favor.”
“I may be entitled by asking her to buy a carseat but I didn’t want to bog down this post with personal feelings.”
Reddit continued…
“YTA. Firstly if your MIL is not agreeable to baby sit then she should not be doing it at all in the first place.”
“Let her come to your house and meet your son when you all are there at home so that there is no question of the car seat.”
“Secondly buying car seat installing… it is your responsibility.”
“She should not be expected to shell out money for that.”
“Thirdly 78 is far too old for babysitting a small baby or a toddler or a kid for that matter.”
“Think about it whether it’s a good choice to burden your grandmother with that even if she is offering it’s not feasible in the long run.” ~ lovesbooksdocs
“YTA. You are asking people to watch your kids for free, and you also expect them to pay out for the privilege?”
“You are right your Nan should have hers back, because you made her pay for it.”
“You should have done what normal people do and buy one for you and one to get left with other people when they watch your kid.” ~ JWJulie
“YTA. I have a 9-month-old.”
“My mother (64) graciously watches her so I can go to work.”
“I bought an infant seat with three bases: one for my car, one for my partners car, and one for my mom’s car.”
“When the baby got too big for my mom to comfortably carry in the seat.”
“I told her to leave the carseat wherever and I would happy handle moving it to the correct car.”
“When she tried the stroller I got and it was a little bulky for her, we went out and I bought her an umbrella stroller to use that she liked.”
“When she saw me carrying the baby in a carrier, she tried it, too, and liked it, so I bought her one.”
“When the baby needs to upgrade to a bigger seat from her infant seat, I’ll be buying two: one for my car, and one for my mom’s car.”
“Because I want my child to be safe, my mom to be comfortable, and my gratitude to be obvious.” ~ HappyGiraffe
Reddit has thoughts…
“Final edit: I get it, IATAH because I won’t buy the seat.”
“However thanks to your comments we will be re-evaluating how much we use MIL as a pick up/drop off person (even if it is only 5 times a year).”
“In the end this was the straw that broke the camel’s back in my dealings with MIL.”
“While it’s a weird hill to die on it was my breaking point, but not the best one.”
“Thanks to everyone that thinks I force my 78 year old grandma baby sit when it’s the happiest she’s been in years.”
“I truly hope you guys don’t have grandchildren and expect your kids to pay you to spend time with them.”
“My childhood memories with my grandma are some of the best ones that I have.”
Well OP, Reddit sounds pretty clear on this situation.
And from your edit, so do you.
Hopefully you all can come to a peaceful understanding in the end.