A man on Reddit is upset with his mother-in-law after she agreed to watch her 4-year-old grandson while he and his wife go on vacation, only to then ask for a lot of money.
The man explained he and his wife will soon be going on their first vacation since their child was born four years ago. They planned the trip “months ago,” and when his wife asked her mom to watch the little boy when they’re away, she “agreed right away.”
“Mother-in-law is in her early 60s but doesn’t have a ‘real’ job. She will do cleaning for her brother who owns a bunch of rental properties and he pays her in cash. So, it’s not like she has a schedule she has to clear to stay with our son for a few days. Last weekend, my wife called mother-in-law to talk to her about our trip and to ask if there’s anything [she] will need/want us to stock in the house as far as food or necessities,” he wrote via Reddit.
“During the conversation, my mother-in-law said that she will need $100 per day from us. This is the first time she ever brought up wanting to get paid to watch our son. My wife was caught off guard and just kind of agreed to it,” the man continued.
The man was furious with his mother-in-law for “taking advantage of the situation.”
“I told her that is bulls–t that she sprung this on us so close to our trip and I don’t think we should pay her anything. I said that I would call my parents and see if they can watch our son instead. My wife told me that my mother-in-law wouldn’t ask that sort of thing unless she needs the money and that adding $500 to our vacation trip isn’t that much of a big deal. I told her that it’s not about the money to me, it’s about my mother-in-law being sneaky and manipulative,” he wrote.
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The man called his parents, who agreed to watch their grandson without payment.
“I told my wife that my parents can watch our son instead and that she should call her mom and tell her that we no longer need her to babysit. She said that she didn’t want to do that because my mother-in-law was really looking forward to seeing our son, it has been over [six] months. I told her that if she was looking forward to it that much, she wouldn’t be trying to swindle us out of $500. I told her if she didn’t want to make the call, I would gladly do it,” he explained.
When his wife finally called her mother, she accused the couple of “depriving her of seeing her grandson.”
“My wife got emotional and ended up backtracking and said she would talk to me and see if we could work something out. After the call, she asked me if there was some way we could figure this out and I told her we aren’t changing anything again this close to our trip. She said maybe we could offer my mother-in-law a lesser amount but I reiterated that it isn’t about the money, it’s about my mother-in-law being sneaky and trying to take advantage of us,” the man concluded.
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Users in the comments section rallied behind the man and slammed his mother-in-law for asking for money.
“If she needed/wanted to be paid, it should have been discussed up front. It’s not something you bring up last minute,” one person wrote.
“I need to see my grandbabies, but also need cash. Bull–it,” another commented.
“I live 3 1/2 hours from my daughter and grandsons. If they ever need me I’m there. No money for babysitting, no gas money. I love spending time with my family and grandkids,” someone else shared.
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