Am I being unreasonable?

[HappyLeader]

My partner and I are new parents to a 7-month-old son. His sister and mother live over an hour away so they don’t see our son often, whereas my parents live just five minutes away.

I don’t feel comfortable leaving my son alone with my partner’s mother or sister. His mother is 71 and quite forgetful, and his sister, at 37, is very immature and self-centered. On the other hand, I have no anxiety leaving him with my family—my sister has a daughter just five months older than my son, and my parents spend a lot of time with her.

When my partner and I are working, we usually ask my parents or sister to look after our son. Now, his mother and sister are planning to visit, and my family is unavailable. They’ve offered to babysit, but I feel very anxious about it.
Am I being unreasonable?

What does your partner think?

He thinks it will be fine and that we should give them a chance. However, I’m not there yet because his sister, in particular, hasn’t shown the level of maturity needed for me to feel comfortable leaving my son with her.

If he is saying give them a chance he too isn’t 100% sure they are up to the task. Not sure why he wants to risk that.

What do you usually do when your mother and sister are unavailable? I would do that. If his mother and sister are offended by that suggest they take full care of your child on a day that you are at home. That might reassure you that they are capable or it might show them that they are not.

Perhaps together they will make a good team - SIL energy plus MIL wisdom.