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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Mother in law strange behaviour?

154 replies

bellarosa81 · 16/05/2019 17:08

My mother in law is having one of my children today and overnight. Lovely!

My husband came home from Work and Said that they had spoken on his way home.

According to her my son’s shoes don’t fit properly so she Will go into town tomorrow to buy new ones.

Now they are new shoes so i explained they are a little hard and need to be Worn in but he has Worn them a few days and no conplaints so far from him or nursery.

She has a history of buying my children clothes and wanting to show her style through them!

She never contacted me to tell me what she thought though. I asked my husband:
had she not have mentioned it would he have noticed they were ill fitting .

He didnt know. 😉

Is this strange?

OP posts:
jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 18:17

Not intonation. Inference!

GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough · 16/05/2019 18:18

Is she asking you to pay for them?

MitziK · 16/05/2019 18:18

Risking playing Devil's Advocate here, but CFX and his GF did that regularly, but DC would come home with a pair of £10 plastic shoes that were 'feminine', offered no support, didn't stay on, peeled within days, left blisters and, naturally, DD thought they were amazing and had been convinced that her 'old' shoes didn't fit when CFX hadn't thrown them away out of spite and refused to wear the ones that weren't going to hurt her feet, affect her playing or end up with injuries from trying to run in them, slipping over or turning her ankle repeatedly.

Boys might not have quite such an issue with stupid fucking footwear, but he could still end up with cheap plastic shit that isn't made half as well as what he already has.

(But, if he's going to come home with a pair of properly measured and fitted Startrite or suchlike, bargain, two pairs of decent shoes - send him in a slightly too small coat next time and see what happens).

yourestandingonmyneck · 16/05/2019 18:18

I don't think it's strange in the slightest.

  1. grandparents like to buy things for their grandkids.

  2. A child's shoes shouldn't need broken in. I'm not sure what this is all about but it does sound like he needs some comfy shoes.

  3. Having had a look at your previous threads, you seem to have major issues around your MIL and clothes. I don't understand it at all to be honest, I find it weird and think you're totally overreacting.

Idontmeanto · 16/05/2019 18:21

I can understand it’s a criticism and it would annoy me, too. My mil would do it, too!

puppy23 · 16/05/2019 18:25

Does it really matter if he has an extra pair of shoes? They might come in handy when you find another has got a hole or something

clairemcnam · 16/05/2019 18:26

Mitzik It sounds more like the shoes OP has bought that are the problem ones.

Rainbowknickers · 16/05/2019 18:27

To be honest my mother never bought mine anything even tho she’s loaded and I was a skint single parent anything she did buy I’d have to pay her back with an extra few quid ‘for her troubles’ I’d just let it go give em to the charity shop if you want to let someone else get some use out of them

bellarosa81 · 16/05/2019 18:45

I get that many people may disagree With me but i dont know why people feel the need to be so rude and mean in their answers.

Think this reminds me why i shouldnt use this site.

I am lonely, I have some mental health issues and and I don’t like being controlled.

Thanks for the wake up call!

OP posts:
jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 18:53

Find it really creepy that people look up your previous threads!

jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 18:54

OP, you are right, remember that. MN is a crazy place sometimes. Nobody else has the right to dress your child apart from you and your DH.

steff13 · 16/05/2019 18:57

Is it possible that your mental health issues are making you see her actions in a way other than how they are intended? Perhaps she's genuinely trying to be kind and helpful. Personally, I'd rather ascribe good intentions to this sort of thing than seeing it as some sort of slight. It makes me happier and makes my life easier. And as a bonus, if the person WAS doing it to bug or control me, they don't get any satisfaction from it, because I accepted it gratefully. Grin

Fiveredbricks · 16/05/2019 18:58

This reply has been deleted

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bellarosa81 · 16/05/2019 18:59

Thankyou jellyfish70!
Means a lot .

It’s Not that i’m upset With hearing things i don’t want to hear - just surprised and disappointed by the rudeness.

OP posts:
SpecterLitt · 16/05/2019 19:01

OP, no one has been rude to you at all, people have stated they disagree and why and how your previous history shows that overall your mother in law is nice, the only actual "issue" you have with her is her buying your children clothing - which isn't really an issue considering nothing else in her behaviour suggests she's an awful controlling person.

I'm sorry to hear you are lonely and that you have mental health issues, but no one is controlling you, and your mother in law buying these items does not mean she is either. Perhaps it's issues you've mentioned with your own mother in the past that you are now projecting on to your partner's mother.

I have read many of your threads in the past as I often do read and not comment, but I really wanted to say something today. I think you do need to seek professional help as you do appear to have control issues and unresolved issues from your past.

I do hope things get better for you, but honestly what your mother in law is doing is what most grandparents do, it can only be offensive if you look to take offence.

You can begin to make your life slightly easier by actually being more appreciative of what she does and not taking offence, if she does buy something you feel your children do not need or you don't like - so be it. Children often receive gifts they do not need, but it's a way those that love them show their love.

Also, as others have said, children's shoes should be comfortable from the get-go as their feet are so delicate, so perhaps there is an issue that your mother in law has noticed and is helping with. The worst case scenario is is that your son has two pairs of shoes.. hardly anything to get worked up over.

Look after your health and yourself, these non-issues are not worth getting worked up over.

bellarosa81 · 16/05/2019 19:01

Are you drunk fiveredbricks or are you always this rude ?

OP posts:
jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 19:02

I have read all of OP's posts and not once have I though they didn't make sense or were random. Yes it is rude to cause someone of being drunk when they are not and have already stated that they struggle with mental health.

Fiveredbricks · 16/05/2019 19:03

No, just genuinely curious, given the "hahahahahahahaha" type response you gave previously to no one in particular 🤷

jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 19:03

accuse not cause

jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 19:03

Many hahahahs on this site , it means laughing Confused

Alsohuman · 16/05/2019 19:04

My mum bought all my son’s shoes for years. I was very, very grateful. They’re so expensive and it was really helpful.

SpecterLitt · 16/05/2019 19:04

@jellyfish70 People often look up previous threads to get a better understanding of the OP, and if possible to help offer their best advice. Others remember certain usernames and can recall things said. Some look up to see if an OP is being serious and so forth. There is absolutely nothing creepy about it.

You seem to be taking a lot of offence on this thread, even though you are not the OP.

jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 19:05

A GP buying shoes for her GC is fine.
A GP deciding to take said GC out to buy replacement shoes BECAUSE the shoes his parents bought him are ill fitting, not fine.

Fiveredbricks · 16/05/2019 19:05

I somewhat suspect jellyfish70 may also indeed be the OP, @SpecterLitt Confused

jellyfish70 · 16/05/2019 19:08

I find it weird and have never done it myself. I take each post at face value. I am not OP but I totally agree with her and find it amazing that so many are telling her to get a grip. It's not the shoe buying ,it's the inference that she hasn't provided for her son. I don't believe that all of these posters would be ok with it and not feel one bit uncomfortable with the implied meaning of her actions.

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