AITAH for distancing myself (age 45) from my mom after she found private photos of my daughter (age 20) and took them

I was recently on vacation, and my adult daughter, age 20, was at home. My parents came up for a visit to help with some basement flooding (I did not ask them to, and I also didn’t refuse). As always, my parents do more than necessary, and also cleaned, changed bedsheets etc. While cleaning my adult daughter’s room, my mom found some inappropriate (private) Polaroid photos she took of herself. She took them home, a 5 hr drive, without asking anyone. She told me about the photos after I came home. She said she thought about putting them in my room, but she wanted me to have a discussion with my daughter, and was worried she would find them? This really bothered me. For one, my daughter is not a minor. Also, I was very uncomfortable with those photos taken from the home. All I could think about is what if they got in an accident on the way home and the photos were at liberty on the highway! I did instruct her to destroy the photos, which she confirmed she did. My daughter is upset about the whole situation, and no longer wants them to visit.
This isn’t an isolated incident. When my parents visit, the completely take over and re-organize and clean. I know they are intending to be helpful, and often it is, but it also makes me feel incapable (I am not). My mom also tends to share personal information about me with extended family without asking, so I’m already sensitive to issues of privacy and boundaries. I’ve started telling her minimal details about my life.
I’m trying to figure out whether I’m overreacting or whether this is a genuine boundary violation.

Posted Jul 24, 2026, 2:22 AM UTC · locked

21393

Comments aren't archived yet

This post had 93 comments on Reddit. Comments for this period haven't been loaded into the archive yet.