‘My in-laws got into a fight while babysitting’

Having in-laws babysit does not always go well. Simone (32) knows all about this. Things went horribly wrong when her in-laws were babysitting their six-month-old daughter Olivia.

“She cried on the phone and told me that there had been a huge fight between her and my father-in-law,” Simone said. famme.

Parents in law

“It was a hot summer day when my husband and I decided to have our first night out without our baby. We had asked my in-laws, my husband’s parents, to babysit our little one. Of course they wanted to help us.

I already knew there was some tension between my in-laws when it came to parenting. My father-in-law, a hard-working man, had often been absent during my husband’s upbringing. He was always busy with his career and had little time to be involved in the day-to-day tasks of parenting. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, had always been present, she was a devoted mother and had taken on all the responsibilities.

To watch out

As I handed our baby over to my mother-in-law, I felt a slight tension in the air. My father-in-law seemed somewhat distant and quiet. Maybe it was just tiredness after a long day of work, I thought to myself. I tried to brush off the worries and have faith in my in-laws.

The evening started well. My husband and I enjoyed our time together knowing our little Olivia was in good hands. Halfway through the evening I received a disturbing phone call from my mother-in-law. She cried on the phone and told me that there had been a huge argument between her and my father-in-law.

Very old

The old hurts between them had resurfaced, the painful memories of my father-in-law’s absence from childcare. My mother-in-law felt hurt and thought he shouldn’t interfere with feeding the baby. She thought she knew better because she had always been there. Emotions ran high and the evening that was supposed to be a carefree break for us ended in a bitter argument between my in-laws.

My in-laws were great grandparents to our baby, but now suddenly they didn’t want to babysit together. My father-in-law, hurt by my mother-in-law’s words, decided he no longer wanted to babysit. He felt too left out and misunderstood. If I had known in advance that the evening would turn out like this, we would never have left.”

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