Mother-In-Law Wants to Pierce Baby's Ears against Parents' Will, Mother Finds Out about It

A 31-year-old woman forbade her mother-in-law from taking care of her 10-month-old daughter without supervision. She believed she was right while her family felt she was overreacting.

The woman had a reason not to allow her mother-in-law near her daughter alone. Her sisters-in-law and husband understood her explanation but also thought she overreacted.

She also shared that she confronted her mother-in-law once and threatened her that she would find someone else to take care of her daughter.

Since the day her daughter was born, the woman's mother-in-law kept asking her when she would get her daughter's ears pierced. Her question bothered OP (Original Poster) because she didn't want her daughter's ears pierced until she asked for it. She explained:

"Definitely not yet when she can’t even speak."

OP's mother-in-law believed she was "hypocritical" because she had gotten so many ear piercings. OP disagreed with her, explaining that her mother never allowed her to get a piercing until she turned 10.

However, her mother-in-law insisted on getting her granddaughter's ears pierced, saying it would be better because she wouldn't remember the pain. She also got her daughters' ears pierced when they were little.

Since she couldn't trust her mother-in-law, she quickly called her sister.

OP also shared her husband's stance on the situation. He believed OP's decision should be respected because she was the one who had to take care of her daughter.

A few weeks ago, OP went with her husband to her uncle's funeral, so she left her daughter with her mother-in-law. As she was about to leave for the funeral, she heard her mother-in-law telling her daughter that they were going shopping and getting her some pretty earrings.

This prompted her to barge into the room and tell her mother-in-law not to get her daughter's ears pierced, adding she would get someone else to take care of her if she didn't respect her decisions for her daughter.

Since she couldn't trust her mother-in-law, she quickly called her sister, asking her to take care of her daughter while she was away.

After the incident, her mother-in-law offered to take care of their daughter if OP and her husband wanted to go out alone. This happened several times, but OP refused and told her she could only visit their house to see her granddaughter. She confessed:

"I no longer trusted her not to get her ears pierced behind my back."

OP posted her story on Reddit, asking other people if she had done something wrong. NUT-me-SHELL assured OP she wasn't at fault and believed OP's mother-in-law was untrustworthy. She explained:

"If she’s willing to go behind your back and have your child’s ears pierced, how can you possibly know that she doesn’t have more up her sleeve?"

Meanwhile, Lux_Brumalis stated that OP's mother-in-law disrespected OP as a parent. She explained that if she were in OP's place, she would have clarified to her mother-in-law why she wasn't allowed to spend solo time with her granddaughter.

The Redditor suggested that she leave with her daughter if her mother-in-law did something similar again. Another Redditor named Taleya wrote:

"She's already proven herself utterly untrustworthy"

She believed OP's mother-in-law first tried to guilt her into making the wrong decision, after which she caught her red-handed. She advised OP not to leave her daughter with her mother-in-law.

DaCookieDemon shared that her parents once took her for a piercing when she was 8, and she backed out. Since that day, her parents never forced her to get her ears pierced. However, when she turned 13, she convinced them to take her for an earlobe piercing. She explained what happened next:

"After that I made a choice to get more ear piercings at 17 (from a trained tattoo artist) and my tongue and neck done at 18."

She emphasized how necessary it was to get the person's consent before doing anything. Most users supported OP and believed her mother-in-law was at fault.

Questions to Ponder:

What is your stance on when to pierce a child's ears?

OP and her mother-in-law had opposing views on ear piercings. OP would rather give her daughter the option to pierce her ears or not when she's older, while her mother-in-law believed it would save her daughter pain by piercing her ears as a baby. What are your own views about this?

Do you think OP should clearly explain why she was against the piercing to her mother-in-law?

If OP explained that she didn't want to get her daughter's ears pierced without her consent, then her mother-in-law might understand it better. Otherwise, she would keep asking her to let her stay with the baby alone. Do you think OP should talk to her mother-in-law?

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might like this one about an incident where construction workers blocked the car of a woman who refused to leave a no-parking zone.

All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com