Relationships with mothers-in-law are often a source of contention, as not everyone gets along with them well. However, one side’s behavior might have a negative impact on the children, who suffer as a result. This happened to a woman who had complained about her mother-in-law’s behavior.
Here’s how it went: “I have a 14-year-old daughter with long, curly hair.” My mother-in-law had recently invited my daughter over for the weekend to her and my husband’s father’s place.
They’d had my kid there for weekends and holidays before, so I wasn’t concerned about anything, and she appeared OK during our morning and evening phone calls.
Today, when my MIL dropped her off, I was shocked to see her almost waist-length hair was now shoulder-length and that it was now straightened. My girl has been determined to grow her hair out since she was in the sixth grade, and has expressed no desire to straighten her normally curly hair before.”
“She was crying and told me that her grandmother had done everything herself and lied to her that I had given my approval for my mother-in-law to do this, which is why she didn’t mention it when we spoke.
Needless to say, I was furious, and after calming my daughter, I told my husband what had happened, and we spent an hour discussing what we should do about it. We eventually agreed that my MIL would not see her granddaughter alone until she learnt to respect her boundaries.
“My FIL apologized profusely before hanging up, and I ended up sending a text to my MIL about how she was unable to see her granddaughter alone until she apologized for what she did and learned to respect our daughter’s boundaries.
It was quiet for a while until my husband and I started getting bombarded with texts from both my MIL and my SIL. My MIL is furious with me for trying to keep her away from her granddaughter, and for telling my FIL what happened because he’s now staying in a hotel and contemplating their marriage.
SIL is saying it wasn’t a crime for my MIL to act in my daughter’s best interest even if she went behind my back because clearly I wasn’t going to take care of her.”
