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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be worried about MIL after vodka in DD's juice?

264 replies

libbylove · 25/10/2018 18:07

A couple of weekends ago we had Sunday lunch with my in-laws. My mother in law had some juice in a lemonade bottle that she told me she'd made herself. She gave me a glass and told me it wasn't alcoholic. I double checked this and she swore blind that it was just juice. It tasted just like juice, nothing strange about it - and it was like 11am so I didn't think any more about it.

Later on during the meal my 3.5 year old daughter needed a drink so I asked my mother in law what to give her. She said anything on the kitchen counter would do so I poured my daughter a cup of the juice and thought no more about it.

Two hours or so later my mother in law was a bottle or so deep in white wine. I was having a joke with someone and she pointed at me and accused me of being drunk. I replied that there was no way I could be drunk because I'd only been drinking the juice she made.

She then chose to reveal that this "juice" was made from 50% tropical J2O and 50% neat vodka. She'd given it to me mixed with flat lemonade, but I'd given it to my toddler as was. And I had no idea how much my daughter had drunk. My father in law said her cup was full when he cleared the table - but I'd only filled it 2/3rds full so that didn't add up. Meanwhile my mother in law's reaction was "well, you gave it to her." as if I know it had vodka in it!

The whole next day my daughter was down in the dumps, didn't eat, had a headache, was dizzy and was generally too ill to go to nursery. My husband was at work so when I told her she'd been ill all day (despite the fact she'd been up three times in the night and uncharacteristically wet herself twice the day of the juice) he alternately said it was down to her recent injections/me overreacting. I had to flat out accuse him if gaslighting me before he accepted that maybe the whole situation was not ideal.

The in-laws have previous - when DD was barely walking they took her out and got her badly burned with splinters in her feet from walking on a pier with little/no sunscreen. She nearly ended up in a burns unit, and me and my husband had to hold her down as a doctor pulled out a dozen or so large splinters.

My husband has now started arranging for my daughter to stay with them for a few days. I'm not sure what to say about this - he wants me to have the conversation with them because it's me that's unhappy, but I almost need a script or something. Do I say they can't look after her? Do I say they need to take better care? Or am I, as my husband thinks, overreacting?

OP posts:
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 25/10/2018 19:48

And actually I agree with the others. Why on Earth you didn’t take her to a&e I have no idea.
www.poison.org/articles/2013-feb/alcohol-a-dangerous-poison-for-children

libbylove · 25/10/2018 19:50

My husband is concerned that if he tells his folks DD can't stay with them alone any more, they'll be so incredibly upset they'll never want to see us again. We've agreed to sit down with them and have a big discussion about this. He thinks a lot of it is to do with how ill his father (my FIL) has been - he's currently going through multiple difficult operations and MIL drinks to cope.

Of course DH has been all "it's all very well for strangers on the internet..." too. Anyway I've shared this thread with him. I do have sympathy with him because if this were my parents I'd probably be very defensive and upset too.

OP posts:
libbylove · 25/10/2018 19:52

@hodge Thank you for sharing that link. I had no idea.

OP posts:
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 25/10/2018 19:54

You’re welcome @libbylove I hope it helps show them just how serious this is.

puzzledlady · 25/10/2018 19:56

What the hell?! Your husband is seriously under estimating how bad this situation is. I would have so many concerns about ever leaving my child with them. Ever.

BishopBrennansArse · 25/10/2018 19:56

So they never want to see you again... why is that your loss, exactly? After what they've done to your child?

LynetteScavo · 25/10/2018 19:58

I wouldn't need a script to tell these people my DC were never being left alone with them again. Relatives or not.

And yes, I've done the same in RL, not just behind a screen in the internet.

Angry
JamPasty · 25/10/2018 19:59

OP's husband, if you're reading this, there was a good chance they could have killed your daughter. Them being upset about what's happened is how it should be - upset enough they don't put her life at risk ever again

MamaLovesMango · 25/10/2018 20:00

My husband is concerned that if he tells his folks DD can't stay with them alone any more, they'll be so incredibly upset they'll never want to see us again.

Well put bluntly OP that pales in comparison to a scenario where you child has been put in harms way again, has to see a professional and social services are called. You’ll be told to keep her away from your ILs at all costs or face possible removal.

With your examples given, it sounds like it’s only a matter of time before this happens and I know what I’d rather. If your DH won’t commit to keeping your child safe then you really need to be evaluating his part in your family life. There’s an accident waiting to happen here.

thereallochnessmonster · 25/10/2018 20:00

Another one who can’t understand why you didn’t taste the vodka. Bizarre. But no, I wouldn’t leave my dc with them.

SecretWitch · 25/10/2018 20:02

She was in the burns unit after a day with her grandparents? Your husband didn’t have strong words with them regarding this event?

I might have taken my child to a&e after the vodka incident. Alcohol poisoning is real and dangerous.

NerrSnerr · 25/10/2018 20:04

I really cannot get this head around this at all. What the fuck would you have told the hospital if she'd became seriously ill 24 hours later 'oh yes I know she drank vodka 24 hours ago but my husband told me not to do anything so I didn't' or if the worse happened would you have been happy standing up saying that to the coroner?

I hope this whole thing is made up as this child has no one fighting their corner at the moment.

Kardashianlove · 25/10/2018 20:06

It sounds like everyone’s judgement is completely off.

MIL for not telling you drink had alcohol in.

You & DH for not seeking medical advice even though your 3 yest old had drunk an unknown (but likely significant) quantity of vodka and was presenting differently from usual in a number of ways.

You and DH for considering allowing people who allowed your daughter to get burned, splintered and access alcohol look after her.

It doesn’t really sound like any of you are capable of actually keeping her safe.

You all seem to have poor decision making which is putting her at risk of harm.

ohfourfoxache · 25/10/2018 20:14

Op’s Husband - your DAUGHTER is the priority here, not your fucked up parents.

Look into FOG (fear, obligation, guilt). The very fact that you are even considering letting your dim witted parents even SEE your daughter again indicates that you are likely to be deeply entrenched.

Absofrigginlootly · 25/10/2018 20:17

I'm finding it difficult to believe that your 3 and half year old was sick, you knew she had mistakenly drunk vodka yet you didn't take her to A&E or seek medical advice. You're almost as irresponsible as your mother in law.

This.

AnyFucker · 25/10/2018 20:27

This is an unbelievably bad situation

LightDrizzle · 25/10/2018 20:40

This is horrendous. The alcohol could have been lethal. Getting severe sunburn has also increased her risk of skin cancer significantly.
My mum was warned about this after she got a bad burn on one patch of her shin on a pedalo in Mallorca. 25 years later she had a pre-cancerous growth excavated in that very spot leaving quite a large permanent dent. Luckily she was uncharactoristically vigilant due to the warning and it was caught early with no recurrance.
I’d be shaking with rage.
I know it’s not what you want to hear, but make sure your daughter is aware of the risk when she is older so she can also be vigilant and also informs doctors if she presents with suspicious moles or skin changes.

DownTownAbbey · 25/10/2018 20:43

Why is your DH more afraid of mummy dearest than outraged and concerned at what she did to you and your DD?

Hiding vodka laced juice in an innocent looking bottle screams alcohol problem. Spiking the drink of a woman with a young child to look after is disgusting. Getting defensive instead of being worried when her shitty behaviour has led to her grandchild being poisoned is completely unforgivable. Why your DH can't see this is mystifying.

QueenOfCatan · 25/10/2018 20:51

Let them throw their toys out of the pram then. Why on earth would he want them anywhere near her? They've severely burnt her, made her require quite horrible medical intervention and have now basically poisoned her. Their feelings do not matter here.

MadeForThis · 25/10/2018 20:59

Your DH needs to defend and protect his dd.

They blamed you for dd drinking vodka. They minimised it so you wouldn't ask for medical advice.

What could happen if dd was in their sole care?

Your MIL has serious issues with alcohol which in turn will further cloud her judgment.

DH needs to be firm that HE isn't happy to leave her with them

And if he won't to it then you must. I wouldn't give a fuck who was annoyed with me if it meant my dd was safe.

Racecardriver · 25/10/2018 21:13

We have a rule in our house called ‘your parent, your problem’. Basically it goes like this. Parents respond best to reprimands from their sin children so if there is an issue the person whose parent is the problem is the one that has to deal with them. My FIL is a lot like you in laws. He loves our children but he is massively thoughtless (walked in on our toddler carrying a kitchen knife once). MyDH has finally decided to cease contact thank god. If it were me we would have stopped seeing him a long time ago but that would have caused problems with my DH, my DH and his other family members, our marriage etc. This way he has been the one to make the decision and to do the whole I am never seeing you again thing. It’s been fairly easy and it also was very reasonable (I decided very quickly that I didn’t want him around, unreasonably so to most people I would admit but I am quick to spot a bad person). The thing is if I had done this my husband wouldn’t be taking the responsibility for it and I would get blamed andvon here would be tears from my mil etc about how I am being unreasonable (the fucker abused all of them for years) but because my husband did it (he a very peace and love kid of dude) they can’t say anything because they know that when he turns his back on his father it’s well and truly over

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 25/10/2018 21:18

You cannot trust them to take care of your daughter. Let them kick off if they want. Their feelings are not more important than your DDs safety. They sound nuts TBH.

longwayoff · 25/10/2018 21:19

Absolute flat out NO. In fact, no to everything. Psychos, its appalling.

SunnyCoco · 25/10/2018 21:20

This is really upsetting , I hope this is not real

In her short little life of only 3 years she’s been burnt to the point of being hospitalised and drank an unknown amount of vodka with no medical attention afterwards

Seriously somebody needs to step up and look after this little child before the worst happens

Hepzibar · 25/10/2018 21:26

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