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Young working mother is furious when her own mother refuses to care for her daughter unless she is paid $20 an hour
- A young mother, 29, says that her retired mother does not want to babysit
- 64-year-old grandmother wants to get paid for her time and service
- The daughter asked Reddit if it’s unreasonable to expect free childcare
A new mom was shocked when her own mother demanded to be paid to babysit.
The 29-year-old American mother planned to go back to work and did not want to go further into debt to pay for childcare fees.
Though when he approached his 64-year-old retired mother for help, she refused.
Sharing the details on Reddit, the woman asked ‘am I an idiot?’ for wanting her own mother to take care of her baby for free.
A 64-year-old retired grandmother has refused to care for her grandson unless she is paid $20 an hour. This lawsuit left her 29-year-old daughter furious and unsure what to do (file image)
In the post, the woman detailed how her mother “has been a stay-at-home/homemaker since 1992, and hasn’t been a part of the workforce since.”
“She also added that if she really wanted this baby then maybe I should have thought about staying home like she did to take care of him while my partner goes to work and keep us as a ‘traditional’ family, and that’s if she anyone my dad has been able to solve, we can too,” the woman wrote.
The new mom said she earns more than her partner, is $5,000 in debt, and can’t afford to be a stay-at-home mom.
“When I explained all of the above to my mother, she proceeded to tell me that she would charge me $20 per hour for every hour I babysit, plus late fees if we were late for pickup,” she wrote, stating. Mom ‘does nothing but watch TV and cook.’
The grandmother also demanded that her daughter provide her with all the baby essentials, including a car seat, stroller, bottles, and “pretty much everything.”
“She won’t set foot in my house for her own personal reasons (she came once and I’ve lived with my partner for 5 years, it’s a 15-minute drive away),” the mother continued.
‘I want to save money to reduce our debt, and I don’t want to pay him that much or invest that much in double everything as it will spiral into more debt for me and my partner.
“I’m hesitant about enrolling my baby in daycare as the overall cost will be lower and a bit closer to home.”
Working from home is also not an option for the partner and other family members who work full time during business hours.
‘Am I the idiot for wanting my mom, who is home all day again, to babysit for free while my partner and I try to sort out our finances?’ asked the mom.
The daughter shared the details on Reddit and asked ‘am I an idiot?’ for wanting her own mother to take care of her baby for free while she goes back to work (file image)
The Reddit thread was flooded with comments from more than 2,300 people sharing their advice and opinions, with many supporting the grandmother.
‘I’m sorry to be blunt and rude, but you may not have a child if you can’t afford to take care of it. And if your plan was always to go back to work, you should have discussed it with your mom before the pregnancy,” wrote one person.
‘The audacity to neglect his mother’s time. ‘She does nothing’: BECAUSE SHE IS 64!!!’ said another.
A third added: “Your mother has no obligation to take care of you.”
But others understood the dilemma.
‘The best thing you can do is start building your child care system. Look at the nurseries. Make some friendly moms in the same boat as you and trade babysitting. Go, okay, mom’s not interested, that sucks, what are other options? another suggested.
Another was more direct about it: ‘You’re not a jerk for wanting her to take care of your baby. And she’s not an idiot for not wanting to. I know it would be a blessing if your mother was more generous with her time and she wanted to take care of your son. But not her.