Dad accused of 'child abuse' by mother-in-law over innocent tummy time routine
Not everyone gets on with their mother-in-law. They have a stereotypical image of being overbearing or overly critical. But these supposed traits are relatively minor compared to the experience of one new dad, whose MIL actually called the police on him.
His wife's mum is Spanish; he speaks enough Spanish to have basic conversations with her, but there is a language barrier to all of their interactions. She recently came to live with the couple to help care for their child for three months and the man said he had gone out of his way to make her feel welcome in their home.
However, things recently came to a head over the baby's tummy time. The little boy fusses every time he is put on his tummy, but the couple were told by the doctor to keep going in order to help his flat spot on his head, strengthen his muscles, and encourage him to roll over.
The man then revealed on Reddit: "Two days ago she snatched the baby from me during tummy time and said I am committing violence against him. I regretted letting her take him but let her. Then yesterday she tried the same thing and I refused to give her my baby. The thing is, I WASN'T EVEN DOING TUMMY TIME. My baby fusses when he isn’t doing something, he just constantly wants something.
"MIL heard him fussing from another room and comes barging in saying I'm abusing him again. I walked away from her and locked the door behind me. She pounded on the door saying she will call the cops and she did. I called my partner who left work immediately and drove home."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Sure enough, the police arrived and entered the home. "MIL tried telling the cops that we were dirty because the dirty bottles and snot sucker were in the same place, that we pet the dog then hold the baby, and that we do tummy time where the cat lays on the couch. When she told them that tummy time hurts the baby they just said 'I'm not a professional doctor.'
"The police couldn't contain their laughter saying it sounds like MIL thinks she is the 'resident expert' and that they run into mothers who disagree with parenting styles a lot. I unfortunately couldn't laugh along because I was in tears explaining the situation but it was obvious the police were on our side."
Of course, no police report was filed - but the damage was done. MIL was told to pack her bags before being driven to a motel and her flight was changed to ensure she flew home the following day. "I'm not sure what will happen in the future but it might be the last time MIL sees her grandchild… MIL has no idea and thinks it's her baby too. Luckily MIL and FIL live on the other side of the country. Here's to hoping they never move here…" the man concluded.
His post was quickly inundated with comments. "My little one hated tummy time and they despised me for making them do it," one wrote. "They would give me the dirtiest looks you can imagine a newborn giving you, like serious stink eye, and they would just lay their face down on their hands and groan into the floor, like they were just so fed up with me and my shenanigans. UNTIL. They started being able to hold their head up and look around, and then started rolling over, and then learned how to get up on their hands and knees. All of which is exactly the point of tummy time."
A second said: "My oldest kid (now a teenager) haaaaaaaated tummy time. This kid hated anything that wasn’t moving and doing, to the point where kid didn’t learn to sit up until after learning to crawl! (this kid learned to crawl, sit up, and pull to stand in the same weekend! Yikes.) More importantly, I read this whole thing just gobsmacked. What the heck was MIL's endgame? How could she possibly think this would end well for her? The only thing I can think is that her family dynamic must involve a TON of rug sweeping. Good on OOP and partner for breaking that cycle!"
And a third added: "Just wanted to say that your wife's family sounds very similar to mine. Props to you and to her for breaking the cycle and doing better for your own family. That kid is lucky to have you both."
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