NEED TO KNOW
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A woman says she left her house to run errands for a few hours and came home to find that her mother-in-law had completely redesigned her nursery
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In a post on Reddit, she writes that her mother-in-law replaced the crib sheets, moved the furniture and even replaced the wall art with entirely new pieces
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“When I expressed surprise, she said, ‘Oh don’t worry, I just wanted to make it nicer for my grandbaby!’ ” she writes on Reddit
A woman says she came home from running errands to find that her mother-in-law “had completely rearranged” her baby’s nursery.
In a post shared on Reddit, the woman writes that she left her mother-in-law to watch the baby while she ran errands for a few hours. When she returned, she was met with a surprise.
“She changed the crib sheets to a pattern she preferred, moved all the furniture around ‘for better flow,’ and even replaced some of the wall art with pieces she bought,” the woman writes. “When I expressed surprise, she said, ‘Oh don’t worry, I just wanted to make it nicer for my grandbaby!’ “
The post continues: “I politely told her I appreciated her intentions but would prefer she ask before making changes to our home. She got defensive and said I was being ungrateful for all her help.”
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Stock photo of woman decorating a nursery
Now, the woman’s husband thinks she is overreacting, saying that his mom “was just trying to help,” but the woman writes that she feels like her choices as a parent “were completely disregarded.”
“Part of me knows it came from a place of love, but another part feels really disrespected about the boundaries being crossed,” she writes. “I don’t want to damage our relationship, but I also don’t want this to keep happening.”
Reddit users are now weighing in, with some saying the mother-in-law is using manipulative tactics on the woman.
“This is the manipulation of the unwanted ‘gift,’ ” writes one. “The manipulator uses the ‘gift’ to create a sense of obligation in the target to do and ‘want’ what they really do not want or want to do. The manipulator cries about the great expense or effort they expended on the ‘gift.’ The target is expected to act appreciative of the thing they do not want, and that pressures them in an uncomfortable way. It’s about the manipulator exerting control over the target, enjoying the result of the target’s discomfort and being forced to do what they don’t want.”
Adds another Reddit commenter: “Let me be very clear that this did NOT come from a place of love. This is rude, demeaning and controlling behavior. If she had just changed the sheets that might be helpful. Switching the wall art is judgmental and rude.”
Read the original article on People
