Reason Woman Threatened To Call The Cops on Her Mother-in-Law Backed

An outraged mom has turned to the internet for advice after discovering that her mother-in-law has gone against her rules governing care of her children.

The Reddit post, shared by u/CHUPIYAHOTUM, quickly went viral, collecting 6,100 upvotes since yesterday (December 5).

The 34-year-old explained that her mother-in-law wants to look after her kids, aged seven and 10, more often since getting a divorce. However, both the poster and her husband are not “comfortable with it.”

Explaining why, she wrote: “She has a lot of boyfriends coming and going, and while that’s her business, I don’t want my kids around strangers. My son even mentioned once that he didn’t feel comfortable around one of her boyfriends, and that was enough for me to draw a line.

“My husband agreed, so we’ve stuck to the rule: if she wants to see the kids, she can either come to our place or we can meet somewhere else.”

Recently, the 60-year-old grandma offered to look after the kids while the parents ran errands. But when they returned, the house was empty.

“I called her immediately, and she casually told me they were at her house,” she wrote. “She said the kids missed her and were going to stay the night. I was furious. This was NOT what we agreed to.”

The gran reassured the parents that her boyfriend wasn’t there, but they drove over to see for themselves.

“Guess what? Her boyfriend’s car was parked outside,” she wrote.

The parents didn’t want to make a scene. They said they wanted to have dinner with the kids. However, the grandma was unhappy with their unexpected arrival.

“She accused us of judging her for having a boyfriend and trying to control her life. I snapped and told her if she ever took my kids without permission again, I’d call the police. She started crying and yelling, and we left with the kids,” she wrote.

‘Grandmother Broke Their Trust’

Newsweek discussed the post with parenting expert Lauren O’Carroll of Positively Parenting in England, who specialize in supporting neurodivergent families.

“A boundary has clearly been crossed here,” she said, adding: “The grandmother broke their trust.”

With that being said, O’Carroll states that children shouldn’t always be kept away from people that are not well-known to them.

She said: “In fact, if we were to do that, they would never meet anyone other than their parents!

“However, it is important that the decision is made by the primary care givers and the child’s temperament is considered within this. For a highly anxious or for some neurodivergent children, meeting new people will probably need to be limited more than for more ‘easy going’ children.”

In this instance, she understands that the grandma has broken the parents trust as they crossed an “easy boundary.” But she points out that exposing children to strangers is “very different to leaving them in their care.” She advises against the latter.

To keep kids safe when interacting with unfamiliar adults, O’Carroll suggests the following:

• Teach About “Icky Feelings: Help your child recognize uncomfortable feelings and let them know they can always share those feelings with you.
• Set Clear Boundaries: Explain that their body belongs to them and it’s OK to say no or walk away if something doesn’t feel right.
• Practice Responses Together: Role-play saying, “No, I need to ask my mum/dad first,” to give them confidence in tricky situations.
• Use a Code Word: Agree on a family code word they can use to signal they feel unsafe or want to leave a situation.
• Reassure Them It’s OK to Tell You Anything: Let them know you’ll always listen and believe them, no matter what.
• Emphasize No Secrets: Teach that no adult should ever ask them to keep a secret from you.

Reddit Reacts

Many users have been riled up by the situation and have sided with the mom.

It said: “NTA. You and your husband set rules and she was watching the kids at your house. She took them to her home where her boyfriend was and your kids have been uncomfortable around the boyfriend. I would refuse to let her be alone with the kids period and yes calling the cops is a very reasonable thing. She can have boyfriends not a problem but you don’t want your kids around them.”

“You don’t TELL a parent what you’re going to do with their kids. You ask! NTA,” said another user.

Newsweek reached out to u/CHUPIYAHOTUM for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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