Do your parents WANT to spend time with your kids, or do they just do it as a favour?

[bohemianbint]

I'm just wondering as mine only ever spend one on one time with DS (23 months) when we ask them for help, and then it's done on the footing of them doing us a big favour, IYSWIM. And if we don't ask for help, they don't spend any time with DS at all. (They went 4 months without spending time with him earlier this year, before we had to ask for some help.)

They live 5 mins round the corner and are not ancient, and whilst they always make a fuss of him when they do see him, they don't do it off their own bat. I'm just wondering how normal this is, especially when I'm 36 weeks pregnant and could really do with some help now and again and I feel bad when I have to ask rather than it being offered; it makes me feel like I'm imposing, and indebted.

Am I being oversensitive if am hurt by their seeming indifference? Not just that they dont' want to spend time with DS, but they also don't seem to want to help me, and it shouldn't take a degree in psychology to work out that a very heavily pregnant woman with a toddler would need some help, should it?

Really interesting reading all these stories. On the upside, my mum did offer to help me the other day, but only because we went for lunch and I'd been having a bit of a nervous breakdown for a few days. When we got there they asked if I was alright, and I just cracked and bawled like a baby. (hurray for pregnancy hormones! ) The next day my mum rang to see if I was ok, and said that she would take DS for 3 hours one day, but also couldn't help saying that he was "very wilful" and I need to "show him who's boss."