Entitled DIL Demands Grandma Babysit Her Kids For 5 Days, Gets Angry When Kids Are Taken To Disney
Interview With Author
Grandparents are often the lifeline of a family, bringing together different relatives. It’s no wonder that parents rely on them for guidance and support when dealing with life’s learning curves. Sometimes, entitled parents may lean on grandparents for help a little too much, which can lead to problems.
A grandma on Reddit shared that she was forced to do babysitting duties for days, and once the children’s parents were back, a simple misunderstanding between them created a huge problem.
More info: Reddit
Grandma is forced to babysit her son’s kids and takes them to Epcot one day, but when her daughter-in-law finds out, she loses her mind
Image credits: Greg Park (not the actual photo)
Woman was forced to babysit her grandkids for 5 days while their parents were in Mexico, DIL didn’t ask her own mother, saying the “woman’s family is more important than the man’s”
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
The grandma decided to babysit after her son got emotional, but since she was invited to a birthday party at Epcot during one of the days, she took the children along
Image credits: Monique Pinto (not the actual photo)
When her son and DIL returned, they were enraged at missing their kids’ first Disney trip and called the grandma entitled, saying she “robbed” them of the experience
Image credits: u/Simple-Band-9096
The son asked her to apologize and also forced her to share the story online because he believed she was the jerk in the situation
Bored Panda reached out to Original Poster (OP) u/Simple-Band-9096 to understand how she felt about the situation that unfolded between her son and daughter-in-law. She shared, “I feel great and have no regrets.” She also clarified more about the events in the comments saying: “My son originally wasn’t going to go to Mexico with her, but they decided they desperately needed alone time. They were both pretty emotional when they left about how badly they needed a break, so I’m assuming that’s why they didn’t call.”
After the son and his wife returned from their trip, they were shocked to hear about the visit to Epcot. The DIL felt that she was robbed of seeing her children’s first visit to Disney and she took her outrage out on the grandmother. The poster’s son even demanded an apology from her. When asked whether she had spoken to her daughter-in-law after that interaction, the poster shared, “She has not spoken to me, thank god.” It seems that they have a difficult relationship that has been building up for some time.
It might seem like a shocking thing for an adult to get mad about something as simple as a Disney trip, until you realize that there are many Disney adults who are extremely passionate about the brand and place. A survey of 1,300 Disney adults found that at least a third of them engaged with the company as a child, and others developed a connection with it because of their parents. In fact, they are so passionate about it that 91% of the respondents said they would be a Disney adult till the day they die.
So, along with the shock they displayed because of the Epcot trip, the author also told us that her son was angry for a different reason. “He is upset because I told people the truth that they only care about my husband’s money.” She explained more about it in the comments of the post, saying: “They believe they will get my husband’s money. They absolutely will not, but he’s still my kid, and I still love him. I wouldn’t call him unwanted family. I have told them they will never have that money.”
Image credits: Michael Lehet (not the actual photo)
With more context to the situation, it’s easy to see that trouble was already brewing between the grandmother, her son, and her daughter-in-law. With an already shaky relationship, it’s no wonder that a simple visit to Epcot might have caused tensions to rise even more.
In this situation, the parents decided to go on a trip and leave their children with the grandmother. Despite her saying no, they forced her to babysit for 4 nights and 5 days. An article about uninvolved grandparents states that some of them can have other work and commitments, so it’s often hard to fit in time to babysit grandchildren. It’s not that they don’t want to look after their grandkids, they might just be too tired to manage. In this case, the extended babysitting duties must have put a strain on the poster, considering she did not want to do it in the first place.
It’s interesting to note that studies on grandparents’ health and longevity found that the more they pitch in with babysitting, the better their odds of living longer. This is because childcare pushes them to stay active, and it can have many health benefits. Also, it’s been observed that helping behavior has been associated with better health, which can lead to a longer lifespan.
That being said, grandparents aren’t free babysitting machines that parents can turn to whenever they want. It’s important for there to be mutual respect so that both parties feel heard. The post received 12k votes and 8.1k comments. Netizens were divided, with some people siding with the author and others feeling like some part of the story was missing. Do you feel that the grandmother was right to take her grandkids to Epcot without asking the parents? Let us know your honest thoughts in the comments.
Commenters asked for more information because many felt that there was more to the story than the poster let on, others felt that the grandmother was right
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The kids' parents DIDN'T EVEN CALL OP during their "vacation" to CHECK ON THEIR CHILDREN. That's all I have to hear. I don't give a rat's patootie about the rest of it; if you have a 5- and 4-year-old and you LEAVE THEM with someone for FIVE DAYS, you can at least send a text and be like "hey, have the kids stuck any marbles up their nose or anything?" at SOME point during your vacation to Mexico. The last time I went on vacation to somewhere that wasn't nearby (Vegas, for three days), I boarded my cat at at boarding cattery she's stayed at before. I called them every day to see how Kohl was doing XD it wasn't a lack of trust in the cattery staff, it was because I love my cat and want to make sure she's okay. Apparently, she's a staff favorite because she's so chill XD (All my other vacations that are day-trips/overnight, I take her with me as she is my Adventure Cat and loves it!)
Back in the before times :D I'd get left with grandparents on school holidays (not all but some) usually with my sister too. I don't recall my parents every calling while we were on holiday. It was a treat to spend a week with the grandparents (and as an adult I realise it was a treat for my Mum and Dad too). No one cared about not getting a phone call. Why would we? We were having fun, we were fed and cared for and we knew our parents would be back sooner or later. I suppose given the prevalence of mobile phones now people kinda expect a call or text, but I still don't believe it's necessary. Unless something is wrong, we'll see you in a week, BYE!
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Oh noooo, you bought the kids their first milkshakes before mommy could? See what I did there? Absurdity follows entitlement.
The daughter in law sounds incredibly exhausting and what's worse is the son sounds like he found his soulmate. What a wuss.
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OP is a legend in my eyes. After being constantly overlooked as a grandparent because DIL thinks her parents are more important then agreeing to take the children on very little notice when DIL’s parents are unavailable, I would not have taken them to the Epcot party. I would have taken them there THEN done a few days at Disney to make sure they knew I was the ULTIMATE grandma. If DIL was so obsessed with Disney and with wanting her children (aged 4 and 5) to experience it with her first she would have taken them before now. They live a few hours away. If they can afford a 5 day holiday they can afford a day trip.
Honestly, as someone who lives an hour from Disneyland, that mom is ridiculous. My dad's parents lived even closer. Like, we'd watch the fireworks from the park every night from the backyard when we stayed with them. And yes, when my sister and I stayed with them, there was almost always a trip to either Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. Guess what? The parks are even more fun when you've been there and know your way around.
Load More Replies... The kids' parents DIDN'T EVEN CALL OP during their "vacation" to CHECK ON THEIR CHILDREN. That's all I have to hear. I don't give a rat's patootie about the rest of it; if you have a 5- and 4-year-old and you LEAVE THEM with someone for FIVE DAYS, you can at least send a text and be like "hey, have the kids stuck any marbles up their nose or anything?" at SOME point during your vacation to Mexico. The last time I went on vacation to somewhere that wasn't nearby (Vegas, for three days), I boarded my cat at at boarding cattery she's stayed at before. I called them every day to see how Kohl was doing XD it wasn't a lack of trust in the cattery staff, it was because I love my cat and want to make sure she's okay. Apparently, she's a staff favorite because she's so chill XD (All my other vacations that are day-trips/overnight, I take her with me as she is my Adventure Cat and loves it!)
Back in the before times :D I'd get left with grandparents on school holidays (not all but some) usually with my sister too. I don't recall my parents every calling while we were on holiday. It was a treat to spend a week with the grandparents (and as an adult I realise it was a treat for my Mum and Dad too). No one cared about not getting a phone call. Why would we? We were having fun, we were fed and cared for and we knew our parents would be back sooner or later. I suppose given the prevalence of mobile phones now people kinda expect a call or text, but I still don't believe it's necessary. Unless something is wrong, we'll see you in a week, BYE!
Load More Replies... Oh noooo, you bought the kids their first milkshakes before mommy could? See what I did there? Absurdity follows entitlement.
The daughter in law sounds incredibly exhausting and what's worse is the son sounds like he found his soulmate. What a wuss.
Load More Replies... OP is a legend in my eyes. After being constantly overlooked as a grandparent because DIL thinks her parents are more important then agreeing to take the children on very little notice when DIL’s parents are unavailable, I would not have taken them to the Epcot party. I would have taken them there THEN done a few days at Disney to make sure they knew I was the ULTIMATE grandma. If DIL was so obsessed with Disney and with wanting her children (aged 4 and 5) to experience it with her first she would have taken them before now. They live a few hours away. If they can afford a 5 day holiday they can afford a day trip.
Honestly, as someone who lives an hour from Disneyland, that mom is ridiculous. My dad's parents lived even closer. Like, we'd watch the fireworks from the park every night from the backyard when we stayed with them. And yes, when my sister and I stayed with them, there was almost always a trip to either Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. Guess what? The parks are even more fun when you've been there and know your way around.
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