Woman Called Out For Refusing To Pay Her Mom $20 Per Hour To Babysit Newborn
Nov 11, 2022 by apost team
Juggling work and taking care of children can be hard, especially for working moms who can’t simply leave their little ones alone at home. So, it’s definitely important to have someone to look after your child. But the thing is, not everyone can afford a sitter. Or even if the parent can afford to hire one, it’s always best to leave your child to someone you can trust. And what better way to do it than to ask your sibling to look after you or even your parents to look after their grandchild? Apparently, though, some grandparents ask for a sitter’s fee.
Well, that’s the case for a 29-year-old woman who recently shared her experience with her own mom on Reddit.
In the thread, the woman’s mom demanded her to pay $20 per hour in exchange for her to take care of her children – and most of the people who have read her post say it is only right for the woman to pay her mom.
The woman said she asked her 64-year-old mom to take care of her children so she could go back to work once her leave was done.
The woman then pointed out that her mom has been a stay-at-home since 1992 and hasn’t been employed since then. But her mom refused, explaining she was too old to take care of her child. She was also told by her mom that she should have left work if she really wanted to have the baby and have her husband provide for her instead.
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But the woman explained that it’s impossible for her to leave work and focus on being a stay-at-home mom since she has bills to pay.
“However, we are just coming out of a pandemic, going into a possible recession, there and there is no way me and my partner can make it financially on one income. I make $55k/yr, but have $39k in student loans + $20k in other debt (credit card, car loan, medical debt on credit),” she said.
She added that she makes more money than her partner, which makes it more impractical for her to leave her job.
“My partner makes about $36k/yr, and has $5k in credit card debt. I as the higher breadwinner, have an internal obligation to go back to work since not only (do) I have the most at stake, (but) I also make the most to keep our family afloat.
She went on to share that they are saving up money for them to be able to move to a two-bedroom apartment in a few years’ time for their child.
After explaining her side, her mom eventually agreed to take care of the baby but demanded to get paid $20 per hour, excluding other fees.
“When I explained all the above to my mom, she then proceeded to say that she will charge me $20/hr for each hour she takes care of the baby, plus late fees if we are late for pickup, and must provide her with a car seat, stroller, bottles, and pretty much double of everything we have at our home to compensate for taking the baby to her house,” she said.
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But her mom, who lives 15 minutes away from her where’s staying, said she won’t set foot in her house for her “own personal reasons.”
The woman then said she couldn’t pay her mom the amount she was asking from her, saying she could no longer handle more debt.
“I want to save money to bring down our debt, and don't want to pay her as much nor invest as much in double everything as it will spiral into more debt for me and my partner. I'm on the fence about enrolling my baby into an infant daycare instead as the cost will overall be lower and a little closer to our home,” she said.
At the end of her post, she posed this question: “So, am I the a****** for wanting my mom, who again is at home all day long (trust me, she does not do anything besides watch TV and cook meals), to take care of my baby for free while (I) and my partner try to fix our finances?”
“Sorry to be blunt and rude but maybe don't have a child if you can't afford to take care of them. And if your plan was always (to) go back to work you should (have) discussed that during the pregnancy with your mom,” one user said.
“Your mother is under no obligation to babysit for you. Why are you having a child you don't seem to know what to do with? And why have you not worked all this (out) before now?” another user remarked.
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Do you think the grandmother was right to ask for money from her daughter to babysit her grandchild? Let us know your thoughts, and pass this on to anyone who might be interested to read this!