Current Events > Should your parents be forced to babysit your kids if there's nobody else?

(+) Yeah! (+)

and both parents have to work?

Thats what my mother in law says. She does all our babysitting while me and the wife at work on days theyre not in school. She says my dad (who is 74 years old mind you) should stop being lazy and start helping out with babysitting the kids. She is absolutely against us hiring babysitters or nannies and insists my dad should be forced to help.

My dad is not a grandkids type of person though and he would be awkward with the kids and wouldnt know what to do with them. He also doesnt want to babysit because he wants to enjoy his remaining life since hes already 74.

Should it be an unwritten rule that grandparents have to babysit?

no they shouldnt, their taking care of children days are over, they dont have any obligation to take care of their grandkids

Unwritten rule that they should? No.

should you be eternally grateful that theyre saving you thousands a month? Yes.

but yeah their liability is done imo. Great if they offer, its such a huge relief

If they're willing to help? Great! If they bitch about helping while also bitching about baby sitters, screw them and hire someone anyway. (At least that's how I'm reading into what you're saying.)

Is family obliged to baby sit? No. Lots of them will do it anyway if it's possible. Maybe chip in for gas money if they pick the kids up?

Yeah we are gonna proceed with hiring someone anyway

Theyre stupid and unreasonable. The in laws expect us to not go to work and risk losing our jobs and losing money if the in laws are not available to babysit.

Or they expect my dad to babysit when he made it clear that he will never want to watch the kids. They expect me to fight for it and force my dad to babysit the kids because they only want him as the other babysitter and they dont want us to hire any help.

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

Yeah we are gonna proceed with hiring someone anyway

Theyre stupid and unreasonable. The in laws expect us to not go to work and risk losing our jobs and losing money if the in laws are not available to babysit.

Or they expect my dad to babysit when he made it clear that he will never want to watch the kids. They expect me to fight for it and force my dad to babysit the kids because they only want him as the other babysitter and they dont want us to hire any help.

Good luck on getting the situation settled.

No.

Stop being so entitled.

Nah...they didn't make em so they have no responsibility. Your mother in law sounds just awful from this story alone...

K181 posted...

No.

Stop being so entitled.

He isn't saying he wants it, he's saying his MIL believes that. It's like.. the opposite of entitled.

The only unwritten rule here is:

If you don't raise yours kids, you're going to end up raising your grandkids. Sounds like they raised y'all fine.

Nope, parents are not obligated to help with their grandkids. Your MIL needs to get over herself and stop trying to force her values onto other people

Your kids, your responsibility. You work it out.

Stop letting MIL run your house