“I have a 9-month-old son and for a year now my mother has been living with me and my husband (…) Recently she said that she now wants to be paid for looking after my son and she is upset because we have not paid her,” said the mother, who assured that the grandmother has everything she needs.
An important thing for families to have is the support of their family members, but unfortunately, sometimes there are problems with money issues. It is sad when loved ones fight over money, but it is something that always happens.
Recently, a woman posted on the internet about her case and what she was going through at home. Through the parenting forum type website Mumsnet Limited, a user identified as Candy Floss told how her mother was charging her to look after her son, who is her grandson, even though the lady was living at home.
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“I have a 9-month-old son and, for the last year, my mother has been living with me and my husband. She has helped us a lot by taking care of my son when my husband and I are busy. This has been great and very much appreciated and at first I thought she was happy to help because she expressed how much she wanted a grandchild before my son was born,” the woman recounted.
“So we let her stay with us so she could spend more time with her grandson. However, she recently said that she now wants to be paid for looking after my son and is upset that we have not paid her anything. She never indicated that she expected payment in the first place. Does this seem reasonable at all?” she added.
Pixabay (foto referencial)
Through this website parents share their stories to get feedback from others, regarding childcare and family issues. In this regard, Candy went on to explain that her mother had everything that she needed and that all her expenses were covered while she lived at home.
“Since she is staying with us, she has no expenses. She is divorced with no partner and she is retired, so it’s not like she has missed out on any work income anyway. We have also taken her on a holiday with us,” he detailed.
Pixabay (foto referencial)
However, none of this was about the money but rather that Candy was affected by her mother’s attitude. “If anything, it hurts me more that she feels that way. From my point of view, paying her feels like a transaction and not the fact that she is spending time with her grandson. I am more than happy to pay whatever expenses she may incur for looking after my son, but in her case, there are none because she lives with us,” she said.
“But if she wants to get paid, I might as well take my son to a daycare center when I go back to work,” she added.
Pixabay (foto referencial)
Most of the comments agreed that the grandmother had gone too far with her demand because she is living with her daughter free of charge to look after her grandchild. Users suggested that if the grandmother doesn’t enjoy looking after the baby, the parents should find a professional to do it.