r/Mommit•
ketoRN90

Am I being unreasonable?

So my mom recently retired and is helping watch my toddler. I gave birth to my second late February so it’s been a huge help to have her around to do stuff with my kiddo while I stay home/take care of the baby. In the early days she was at my house/taking my toddler to the library/park/on errands 4-5 days a week.

I want to be as subjective as possible here because I really want some honest feedback if I’m being too unreasonable with how my mom handles my toddler.

I have repeatedly asked her not to let him go on her phone/watch videos or shows on her phone and I have caught her doing this multiple times.

We try to limit screen time and also only show him things that are not overly stimulating. She continues to put on Paw Patrol for him after I asked her not to being as it’s basically like an action movie for babies. He becomes like a lunatic when trying to turn it off.

She feeds him cookies/candy when she knows that I do not give him these things and then lies about it when I ask. My toddler rats her out and she laughs it off.

We eat meals at the dining room table without toys or other distractions. Every day she brings books and toys to the table when I have made it clear that’s not really what we do. He gets distracted and the meal takes twice as long and he does not eat as much as he would if this distractions were not present. I also found out she sometimes will let him eat lunch on the couch watching TV.

She has two gigantic bernadoodles at her house. One of which has growled multiple times at my son. I’m extremely uncomfortable with him going over to her house with them there especially if I’m not there. I asked her not to bring him over there and she has done so multiple times. She says that she puts the dogs away but since she lies about many other requests of mine I’m not sure I can believe this.

These are just a few examples. I am super grateful for her help as it has made post partum very smooth for me. While I know there’s a certain amount of leeway when it comes to letting her be a grandma, I’m feeling very disrespected. It’s amazing not having to pay for day care but at this point I’m honestly really upset that these very boundaries are constantly being pushed.

So I need to know: am I being totally unreasonable with these requests? I feel like I’m going crazy here because to me these things seem simple. Since she spends so much time with him, I feel it would be better overall for my son if we are on the same page about these issues so he has consistency across caregivers. Please give me your honest opinions!

TIA:)

Posted May 6, 2026, 9:37 PM UTC

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