Thanks to horror movies like The Visit and The Babysitter , we’ve learned to seriously question who’s looking after our kids — and rightfully so!
Well, one mother was living in her own horror movie when her babysitter tried to convince her kids that she is their “real mommy.”
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Problem is, this is a friend of her mother-in-law. Cue the drama …
This concerned mother took her dilemma to Reddit’s “Am I The Asshole” (AITA) community.
There, she began explaining that she’s a 26-year-old mother of two kids, a four-year-old daughter, and a three-month-old son.
Since she and her husband both work office jobs, they require someone to watch the kids while they’re away.
They’ve had a few babysitters in the past, but her mother-in-law eventually suggested that her friend watch the kids for free.
“I told her it wasn’t necessary since we could afford a babysitter just fine, but she insisted. I didn’t really see any harm in it after she kept asking, so I gave in and her friend (45F) started babysitting our kids.”
Everything was fine at first.
This woman was always on time and followed the Redditor’s schedule for food and bedtime. It was also a plus that the kids seemed to really like her.
Then, one day, something really strange happened. The Redditor’s daughter came to her and asked if she was her real mommy.
When she confusingly asked her daughter what she meant, her daughter revealed something disturbing.
“Turns out, MILs friend had been telling my kids that they were her babies, and when they protested saying they weren’t, she would yell at them saying that I was just their money maker and that she was their real mommy.”
Uhhhhh…. come again?!
When she told her husband about this, they hired a new babysitter on the spot. Then, they called the mother-in-law to explain the situation.
“We told her that we weren’t going to have her friend over anymore because it made us uncomfortable. We even told her what my kid had told me.”
The mother-in-law was furious!
“Over the phone she started screaming, saying that quote on quote, ‘my friend doesn’t have any kids or grandchildren, so your kids are the closest things she’s had to it, and you’re going to take that away from her?!'”
They tried to calm her down, but nothing would work.
Later on, the mom received a photo of the former babysitter crying on the mother-in-law’s couch.
Now, the Redditor feels conflicted.
“I feel horrible for making her upset, but I don’t like how she was telling my kids these things. I understand that she doesn’t have kids, but that doesn’t excuse her behaviour.”
She let the babysitter go for her peace of mind, but now she’s wondering if she’s wrong.
Thankfully, Redditors swiftly let her know that, if anything, the mom underreacted !
“Would your MIL ever help your friend see them? To the point of taking the kids behind your back? I’d take them to a few sessions with a therapist,” one user suggested.
“They were clearly confused and the damage this unhinged woman did can run deeper than you know right now. Kids internalize that kind of stuff,” they continued.
One nanny wrote that the story gave her the creeps. “If you keep her, one day you’ll come home to your kids gone. Or at the very least, they’ll end up with a serious complex.”
They went on to say that kids require safety and security from their parents, so to have someone say that you aren’t their real mother will only hinder emotional development.
The mother was told to install cameras and change her locks. Someone with that kind of emotional attachment likely won’t give up on the kids easily.
Many were also frustrated at the mother-in-law for being upset at the wrong party.
“Any normal grandmother’s reaction should be getting angry at the friend, cutting her off, and considering her a danger to the grandkids (which she is, she’s unhinged).”
For the full story, read it here !
