A woman has been praised after she banned her mom from looking after her son because she gave him a drink of water without permission.
Parenting can be hard and everyone seems to have a different approach to it, including what children should and shouldn't be eating.
Regardless of your own opinions, it should be noted that unsolicited advice to other parents is often unwelcome.
One parent has taken to Reddit to ask for advice after her mother gave her son water after she explicitly asked her not to.
Parenting is a difficult job. Credit: d3sign/Getty
The unnamed woman revealed that she and her husband had moved in with her mother to save up to buy a house, and her mom was ecstatic with this development.
The mother wrote: "Throughout our few months, she’s been a little weird. She’s constantly checking to see if he has teeth, pushing for us to stop feeding him milk, tries to give him really complicated food (like candy yams). Her defense is: (I did with you and you survived)."
Then came the straw that broke the camel's back, as the Redditor wrote: "Most recently, she was holding him and playfully asked him if he wanted water, in which I responded: 'Do not give him water mom.' She proceeds to give it him and goes: 'See, he’s fine. He isn’t dead.'"
She then took her child and explained to her mom that she would not be allowed to look after him unsupervised again because she overstepped clear boundaries.
The mother revealed that her baby is still only drinking milk. Credit: Sutthiwat Srikhrueadam/Getty
"She isn’t talking to me now and told me I made her feel like a bad parent and grandparent," she added, while explaining that she pays half of the mortgage, buys her own food, and doesn't rely on her mom for childcare.
People were quick to offer their thoughts, with one person stating that "I did it with you and survived" is "an incredibly low standard for her to be proud of maintaining."
A second person added: "Your mother is the grandmother, Not the mother. Being a grandmother, myself, I babysat my grandchildren over weekends. I still asked what was allowed to be given and not given. The things your mother is doing, is perfectly healthy, but, it's your choice not hers."
A third person said: "Mom displayed that as long as she thinks something is fine she's going to do it whether or not you agree. She flippantly dismissed your concerns and feelings. Before she did these things you probably did trust her. Now, you can't trust her."
While the mom did not specify her baby's age, given he was born in September he would be coming up to six months old at the time of posting.
According to Healthline, babies under six months old should never be given plain water, only milk or formula to drink, as their "bodies aren’t suited for water until several months after birth".
Due to the small size of their stomach and kidneys, filling up on water can lead to both nutrient loss as they aren't getting any nutrition from plain water, as well as water intoxication.
Drinking too much water can be deadly to humans of any age, however, when a baby is less than six months old it can happen a lot quicker as their tiny kidneys can't filter out as much water as when they are older.
Before the age of six months, babies should never be given water. Credit: kupicoo/Getty Images
The site explains: "Giving a baby younger than six months even a moderate amount of water in a short period of time can lead to hyponatremia, which at its most dangerous can cause brain swelling and even death.
"In fact, because the brain is still developing as well, the swelling can happen more easily in an infant with hyponatremia than in an adult with hyponatremia."
Small sips of water can start to be introduced from six months on, but only a teaspoon or tablespoon amount to begin with.