The bond between a grandparent and a grandchild can be a truly special thing. For one, it can really help a mom and dad to have a loved and trusted person to be there for their kids.
However, one grandmom says even though she loves her grandkids, she's absolutely not willing to be alone with them.
The grandmom began by explaining her son and DIL are expecting their third child.
"Initially they asked me to come help the nanny watch their children while the baby is being born," the grandmom added. "I said yes, as long as the nanny would be there the entire time and I would take over at night. Yes, yes, I was promised. I love my grandkids but I cannot handle them all day."
However, she says the plan changed at the last minute -- and she was the last to know about it.
"Then today I get a call and am told that they fired the nanny for financial reasons," grandmom wrote. "So I’d be responsible for the kids for the entire time. I said no. They asked what I meant. I said the deal was that I would have help and wouldn’t have to be alone all day."
She says ultimately that this kind of baby sitting is just not her style.
"I am not the bake cookies/watch kids all day kind of grandma," she admitted. "I’m the 'watch them for a night and give them back' kind. I told them that they need to find another person to help me or I won’t do it. Now I’m being told that I’m a bad grandma for 'backing out of our deal' and where are they going to get someone else?"
She wants to know if she's being out of line or if she's justified in standing her ground.
Mostly Redditors were on grandmom's side.
"Your kids can’t use you as a free babysitter," one person agreed. "Also you didn’t back out of the deal, they did when they fired the nanny and refuse to get another one. The agreement was you’d have help and only watch the kids by yourself at night. Tell them to either hire a new nanny/babysitter to help you out or just take them to daycare."
Others thought that she might be blowing this out of proportion.
"Ok, I am genuinely curious — you think it's too much for a parent to ask a close and trusted family member to watch their kids for 3 days while mom/dad are at the hospital," asked one reader. "I totally agree that the parents messed up by not talking with gma about an alternative before firing the nanny, but is it really so crazy to ask family to help care for kids for a one-off situation like giving birth in a hospital…?"
Another person urged her to consider the potential issues this could cause.
"…if you back out then what will they do," one user asked her. "Think this through completely. Will your DIL have to deliver the baby alone while your son is at home? Are you ok with the relationship fallout that will happen between you and them if this happens?"
She had a pretty firm answer for that too.
"They have other options," she retorted. "They can either find a sitter and find a way to pay for it. Or they can find another family member to help me."
It sounds like her mind is made up — so hopefuly they can come up with a solution that suits everyone.
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