A grandmother has taken to social media to reveal why she does not want to babysit her own grandchild... and people agree with her.
Now, many couples who are planning on having a baby will often talk about how close they're living to the child's grandparents. This is often under the assumption that the grandmas and grandpas would love to help raise the baby and assist with any babysitting.
However, what if that's not the case?
Well, that's exactly what one grandmother has revealed in a new Reddit post, in which she reveals that she is refusing to babysit her grandchild, despite her daughter expecting her to do so.
Taking to Reddit's 'Am I The A**hole?' forum, the 50-year-old grandmother asked whether or not she was in the wrong for not offering to babysit her three-year-old grandson on the weekends, while her 27-year-old daughter went to work.
"I’ve been 'expected' to be the one to care for my grandson while my daughter works on the weekends," the grandma writes, before adding: "Facts are, I AM TIRED!!!"
The grandmother reveals that the child's father is no longer around and that her daughter is raising her son as a single mom.
"She works all week and has child care arranged at a reduced affordable rate," the grandma explains. "She has started to pick up weekend shifts for extra money and has kind of 'expected' me to babysit because I am the grandmother."
However, this arrangement certainly wasn't what the grandmother had in mind, as she writes: "I also work all week and weekends are my only days off. I'm actually f***ing exhausted and all I want to do is hang out with my dogs on the weekends." (Preach.)
"I do not have the energy to chase around a toddler anymore," she adds. "I had 4 children myself so I’ve basically done my time."
The grandmother then reveals that other members of the family are "guilting" her into doing it, saying that it is "her job" to help her daughter out. She also adds that there is nobody else in the family who is responsible enough to care for the child.
"While I fully intended on being an active grandmother, I just can not handle kids anymore," the grandma writes. "I don’t have the patience or the energy that I had when I had my kids."
Concluding her post by saying that she feels like a "selfish a**hole", the grandmother put the question of whether or not she was to the people of Reddit.
And they certainly had her back!
One person commented: "NTA [Not the a**hole]! At all. She needs to find weekend daycare.
"The fact that she’s asking you to do this when you work a full week yourself is very selfish! I get she’s struggling, but you are too (physically).
"You raised your kids! Give her a specified amount of time and then tell her you’re done! You’re supposed to be having fun with your grandchildren, which might include an occasional day, not every weekend."
A second supporter added: "NTA. You shouldn’t be expected to babysit all the time just because you’re his grandma. Kids are a handful or you may have other stuff to do. She has childcare at a reduced rate. Why not use it?"
And a third wrote: "NTA [...] Your daughter's situation sucks but her child isn't your responsibility. Other family members are guilting you into taking care of your grandson because they are afraid that your daughter will ask them for help."
