A new mum has banned her child's grandparents from changing their nappy. The woman believes consent is important and has enforced boundaries to 'set standards early'.
As well as only allowing herself and her husband to change her six-month-old son's nappy, the mother also expects grandparents to ask before cuddling him. She also says that she does her best to make nappy changes a "positive experience", stopping if her son starts crying and only continuing when he calms down.
As reported by The Mirror, she was quite annoyed when her "overbearing" mother-in-law changed him without permission. She now feels it's time to "draw a line".
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Taking to Mumsnet, the concerned mum explained: "Obviously I understand if we're not available due to nursery eventually or if someone else is babysitting then I'm happy for someone else to do it however this has not yet been the case.
"A while ago, my mother-in-law was over and my baby started crying and rather than just give him back decided to take it upon herself to change him (I was standing right there). He continued crying throughout the change and she gave him back straight after but it annoyed me as it wasn't her place to change him."
Reaching out to fellow mothers for advice, she continued: "I didn't say anything. At the time, my son was four months old and I was trying to be nice and friendly. However, I'm now starting to find her more overbearing and I'm getting close to drawing a line."
One person advised: "You should put your boundaries in on things like this and explain what they are at an appropriate time. If anyone doesn't respect those boundaries then it's their problem, not yours but you need to communicate them clearly.
"This is key to a healthy relationship with her going forwards otherwise resentment will build if you are sitting there watching her doing things you would prefer to be doing."
Another commented: "I think it was cheeky of her to go ahead and change the nappy while you were right there without so much as asking first.
"People (especially mother-in-laws) are territorial about babies and it's fine for you to draw boundaries. You don't have to accept any behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable, no matter how much people try to pressure you."
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