Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
“Both My Husband’s Parents Are Mad At Us For Being ‘Unreasonable’ About Our Daughter”
Having a baby can change the dynamic of your relationship. But it doesn’t stop there. You might also find that other relationships in your life take a knock after your child is born. Like the great one you once had with your in-laws…
For one woman, the change came out of the blue. She says her husband’s parents were a dream… until they moved into a new house. The property has a pool and the in-laws are refusing to put a fence up around it, despite their son offering to foot the bill. They also insist on seeing their grandchild while they have the flu. The 15 month-old’s parents are having none of it and have limited contact. But the grandparents think they’re being unreasonable.
RELATED:
A new baby can bring families closer together or tear them apart
Image credits: senivpetro / Freepik (not the actual photo)
For this couple, it’s the latter… all because the baby’s grandparents refuse to take her health and safety into consideration
Image credits: Luciana Studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: bearfotos / Freepik (not the actual photo)
People fired off a bunch of questions and she was happy to answer
Image credits: No-Journalist-5160
There are around 300,000 drownings worldwide – a quarter of them are children under the age of 5
Around 300 000 people drown every year globally, and nearly a quarter of them are children under the age of 5. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is the fourth leading cause of fatalities for children aged 1–4 years and the third leading cause for children aged 5–14 years.
“Young children are at a particularly high risk of drowning due to an underdeveloped ability to assess risk, and a lack of swimming and water safety skills,” explains the WHO fact sheet on drowning. “The risk of drowning increases when children interact with water outside of active adult supervision.”
Putting fences around pools and sending young kids for swimming lessons are just two ways to help prevent drownings. And while both cost money, WHO says it’s a worthwhile and life-saving investment.
“Through investing in day-care programmes for pre-school children and teaching children basic swim skills, 774 000 fewer children would drown between now [2024] and 2050,” the organization notes. “Furthermore, another 178 000 children would avoid severe, life-limiting injuries due to non-fatal drowning over the same period. Scaling these two interventions is projected to result in savings of over US$ 400 billion – a return of 9 times the value of the cost of scaling up the interventions.”
Here’s what you can do to ensure the safety of children in and around water
Stop Drowning Now is just one organization in the U.S. working towards preventing drownings through awareness and education. Its experts say there are a number of things you must teach kids to ensure their safety in and around water.
The first is that they should be able to step or jump into water over their heads and return to the surface. They should also know how to float or tread water for one minute, turn around in a full circle and find an exit, swim 25 yards to exit the water, and lastly, be able to exit the water. That includes being able to get out of a pool without using the ladder.
Additionally, no kids should ever be allowed in the pool without adult supervision. “Even if kids can swim, accidents can happen,” warns the organization. They should also walk and not run, as wet feet can easily slip when running.
“Don’t dive into shallow water,” adds the site. “Enter the water feet first. Dive only off the diving board.”
Stop Drowning Now also advises that you ban any rowdy play in the pool. “No rough games involving dunking, holding your breath for any extended period, or lifting and throwing others into the air,” explains the site, adding that glass containers should also not be permitted.
“Beverage glasses can easily break on the pool deck or pool walls,” it explains. “Instead use outdoor-friendly options like acrylic tumblers or paper, plastic, or foam cups, or drink from a can.”
Additionally, adults should not swim after consuming alcohol. Children and adults should be weary of swimming after taking certain medications.
Many felt the toddler’s parents were justified and that the in-laws should respect their wishes
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
FreeTheUnicorn 11 hours ago
OP doesn't trust them to care for the kid, with good reason, and she should say so. Better to sort boundaries out now than to make excuses for years until you run out.
Robin Roper 10 hours ago
When our only child was born our neighbor had a pool with no fence; it seems our then county (US) allowed pools to be "grandfathered" outside of the newer laws that required all pools to have fences with specific types of gates. Because the pool was there before the law, no fence was required. We approached him and asked him to put in a fence, he said he didn't have to so he didn't. I invited the county commissioner who was responsible for the department overseeing pools and their safety. We had a walk around our yard and I asked her how this older pool did not pose a risk for my child. It took about 6 weeks to get on their agenda and lo and behold, the law was changed so that all pools, regardless of when they were build had to meet the fence and gate requirements. Don't p**s off a mother.
Crystalwitch60 58 minutes ago
100% don’t p I s s us off , nothing more dangerous than being between a mother n her child ! well done you x
Load More Replies...
Lee Gilliland 11 hours ago
Your kid, your rules. Any bets mommy dearest doesn't believe in allergies?
Spencer's slave no longer 2 hours ago
OP is 100% in the right. I have a pool, 3.7m wide and 800mm deep. I HAVE to fence it, have a full cover and have adult supervision at all times. Children drown in back garden pools every year.
Upstaged75 6 hours ago (edited)
In most US states it's the law that you need a pool fence or built in retractable cover. In Florida it's even stricter and houses with pools are required to have an alarm on any ground floor doors with access to the pool. (Which is annoying because my mom always forgets to disarm it at our vacation house so it blares all day long) Drowning is the leading cause of death in children 1-4 years old (in the US). If you're not going to take water safety seriously you shouldn't have kids at your house. It's weird that some grandparents are so entitled when it comes to their grandchildren. THEY'RE NOT YOUR OWN KIDS! You don't get to demand their time or make decisions about them - that's the parents' job. And if you're not going to cooperate there are consequences. 🤷♀️ I'm so glad that no one in our family behaves like that - they see that their only job is to spoil the kids. 😁
Mark Alexander 9 hours ago
Should've stopped with "We are NOT adding 2 hours to our daily commute." They have no right to keep the kid without you there. None.
Cee Cee 1 hour ago
Swimming pools are not usual in the chilly UK but ornamental ponds are. Far too many children drown in garden ponds. OP is absolutely correct in refusing to let her child be looked after by this outrageous MIL.
Crystalwitch60 54 minutes ago
Exactly , a child can drown in a puddle LITTERALLY ,even a small pond is dangerous with little kids around , a few do have pools here , one of the stuck up t**t property developers round the corner from me in my village has one , but even that’s fenced off , u can see it when walking down the foot path alongside the river between it n the walk way , and covered when not in use , and it’s a huge gated place no one can get in to lol even with fields other side of it for miles , that pool is mega safe , as it should be x
Load More Replies... Mark Childers 5 hours ago
As a kid, I was a fish. You couldn't keep me out of water. I taught myself to swim because for me it was like breathing. It was so natural. When I was around 5, my mother took us for swimming lessons, and I learned the actual swim techniques, but I still swim my way. I enjoy relaxing and gently skimming the water. But I know these days, most kids don't actually learn to swim. I would be worried about any kid near a body of water, but especially a toddler. Pools are a pain in the a*s. People think they'll love them and get so much use out of them. And they probably will for the first season or two, and then it's a moneypit that requires constant maintenance. I fell in love with a house. It was so perfect and even had a guest house. I passed because it had a pool. There was no way I was dealing with a pool. Nightmare. I know from experience.
Crystalwitch60 53 minutes ago
Oh and the sodding leaves , in winter , n god knows what else ,lovely idea yes practical Hell no !
Load More Replies...
FreeTheUnicorn 11 hours ago
OP doesn't trust them to care for the kid, with good reason, and she should say so. Better to sort boundaries out now than to make excuses for years until you run out.
Robin Roper 10 hours ago
When our only child was born our neighbor had a pool with no fence; it seems our then county (US) allowed pools to be "grandfathered" outside of the newer laws that required all pools to have fences with specific types of gates. Because the pool was there before the law, no fence was required. We approached him and asked him to put in a fence, he said he didn't have to so he didn't. I invited the county commissioner who was responsible for the department overseeing pools and their safety. We had a walk around our yard and I asked her how this older pool did not pose a risk for my child. It took about 6 weeks to get on their agenda and lo and behold, the law was changed so that all pools, regardless of when they were build had to meet the fence and gate requirements. Don't p**s off a mother.
Crystalwitch60 58 minutes ago
100% don’t p I s s us off , nothing more dangerous than being between a mother n her child ! well done you x
Load More Replies... Lee Gilliland 11 hours ago
Your kid, your rules. Any bets mommy dearest doesn't believe in allergies?
Spencer's slave no longer 2 hours ago
OP is 100% in the right. I have a pool, 3.7m wide and 800mm deep. I HAVE to fence it, have a full cover and have adult supervision at all times. Children drown in back garden pools every year.
Upstaged75 6 hours ago (edited)
In most US states it's the law that you need a pool fence or built in retractable cover. In Florida it's even stricter and houses with pools are required to have an alarm on any ground floor doors with access to the pool. (Which is annoying because my mom always forgets to disarm it at our vacation house so it blares all day long) Drowning is the leading cause of death in children 1-4 years old (in the US). If you're not going to take water safety seriously you shouldn't have kids at your house. It's weird that some grandparents are so entitled when it comes to their grandchildren. THEY'RE NOT YOUR OWN KIDS! You don't get to demand their time or make decisions about them - that's the parents' job. And if you're not going to cooperate there are consequences. 🤷♀️ I'm so glad that no one in our family behaves like that - they see that their only job is to spoil the kids. 😁
Mark Alexander 9 hours ago
Should've stopped with "We are NOT adding 2 hours to our daily commute." They have no right to keep the kid without you there. None.
Cee Cee 1 hour ago
Swimming pools are not usual in the chilly UK but ornamental ponds are. Far too many children drown in garden ponds. OP is absolutely correct in refusing to let her child be looked after by this outrageous MIL.
Crystalwitch60 54 minutes ago
Exactly , a child can drown in a puddle LITTERALLY ,even a small pond is dangerous with little kids around , a few do have pools here , one of the stuck up t**t property developers round the corner from me in my village has one , but even that’s fenced off , u can see it when walking down the foot path alongside the river between it n the walk way , and covered when not in use , and it’s a huge gated place no one can get in to lol even with fields other side of it for miles , that pool is mega safe , as it should be x
Load More Replies... Mark Childers 5 hours ago
As a kid, I was a fish. You couldn't keep me out of water. I taught myself to swim because for me it was like breathing. It was so natural. When I was around 5, my mother took us for swimming lessons, and I learned the actual swim techniques, but I still swim my way. I enjoy relaxing and gently skimming the water. But I know these days, most kids don't actually learn to swim. I would be worried about any kid near a body of water, but especially a toddler. Pools are a pain in the a*s. People think they'll love them and get so much use out of them. And they probably will for the first season or two, and then it's a moneypit that requires constant maintenance. I fell in love with a house. It was so perfect and even had a guest house. I passed because it had a pool. There was no way I was dealing with a pool. Nightmare. I know from experience.
Crystalwitch60 53 minutes ago
Oh and the sodding leaves , in winter , n god knows what else ,lovely idea yes practical Hell no !
Load More Replies... You May Like New Parents Set Boundaries After NICU Nightmare, MIL Completely Loses It "I Was Completely Disowned": Man Confronts Parents Who Hired A PI To Track Him Down After 15 Years Woman Welcomes Brother’s Family For A Month, His Wife Won’t Stop Complaining
Justinas Keturka
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Related on Bored Panda
34
14