In many families, relatives sometimes help out with babysitting so that the parents can take a break. This is great, because it also gives family members a chance to spend time with the kids and build bonds. Things might only get tough if the parents are too picky and have too many weird rules.
This is what a woman faced when she was asked to babysit her nephews. She was completely willing to do it, until her religious sister-in-law demanded she spend multiple hours a day doing religious studies with the kids.
More info: Reddit
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The poster shared that her sister-in-law had asked if she would be open to babysitting her kids during the summer break, as their family was busy working
The woman agreed to babysit because she liked her nephews, but she became confused when her in-law pulled out a whole schedule for her to follow
Since the poster’s brother and sister-in-law were both religious, they expected her to spend around three hours on religious studies for the kids daily
The woman found the schedule absurd and turned down the babysitting request, which angered her in-law greatly
The poster shared that she had recently moved back home so that she could be closer to her family. Since she worked from home, she had the ability to spend her time as she wanted. That’s why her sister-in-law asked her to babysit during the summer break, since the rest of the family was busy with work.
It is a common practice to reach out to friends and family for childcare help. The best part about this is that it can help build a bond between everyone. The downside may be that when it comes to rules and choices, family members may not always agree with the decisions of the parents. This can then become a sore point for them.
This is exactly what happened when the OP’s sister-in-law pulled out a whole list of things that she should be doing with the children. The aunt was expected to make the kids read and study the Bible, then watch religious content, and also spend two hours copying down texts from the holy books.
The poster mentioned that she wasn’t as religious and didn’t feel comfortable engaging in such actions. It’s usually seen that parents who are strong believers spend a lot of time sharing and passing on their religious beliefs to their children. This is a continuous process that occurs on a regular basis, which is probably why the woman wanted her kids taught religious things even while being babysat.
The poster tried to voice her discomfort to her sister-in-law, but the other woman didn’t seem to understand her perspective. She was probably just concerned about losing out on free babysitting and didn’t understand why this was such a big deal for the OP. That’s why she kept forcing her to comply.
It might be difficult to set boundaries with family members, especially in such touchy situations. The problem is that if you don’t share your feelings and lay down the law, you might end up compromising on your beliefs. That’s why it’s important to open the dialogue of communication and be honest with them about what you will and what you won’t do.
The poster was clear that she didn’t want to babysit and spend hours every day teaching her nephews about religion. Although she felt a bit of guilt saying no, she couldn’t see herself doing something like that. Unfortunately, she got a lot of flak from her sister-in-law, and that might have led to even more drama.
Setting boundaries with pushy people like this can be the most difficult thing to do, but it’s definitely worth it. At least the woman can now enjoy a great summer break, instead of being forced to follow some strict rules while babysitting.
What would your reaction have been if you were in this situation? Do share your honest thoughts down below.
People couldn’t believe the woman’s entitled sister-in-law, and were glad that she refused to follow the weird babysitting schedule
