40-year-old Dad loses it at entitled MIL after she refuses to let her 10-year-old grandson wear the glasses his eye doctor confirmed he needs: 'Oh, you don't need those!'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
May 6, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

It's not easy standing up to a mother-in-law. For starters, you don't want to come across as disrespectful of your partner's family or your elders. That being said, there are times when it's necessary to draw boundaries, and you realize you probably should have drawn said boundaries a long time ago. Still, it's never too late to stand up for yourself, or in this specific instance, for your kid.

Usually, people are willing to take unnecessary criticism from their in-laws. You brush it off, ignore it, take the advice when it's constructive, and discard the rest. Kids, however, do not necessarily have the maturity or ability to block out the unhelpful and downright counterproductive feedback they may receive from adults. This dad learned that the best way to set an example for his kid was to stand up to his mother-in-law. Keep scrolling below for this story about how a trip to the eye doctor caused way more family drama than anyone frankly needed.

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  • This author's mother-in-law considered herself an expert and decided that, despite numerous confirmations from an official eye doctor, her grandson did not need the glasses he was prescribed. Perhaps she had an old-fashioned and outdated sense of good looks and felt that her grandson would be treated differently with glasses, but the truth of the matter was that he fully needed them for his eyesight. It was non-negotiable, but she managed to even convince the author's partner to shift her perspective. That's when the author snapped, and rightfully so!

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    I (40) year old man, have booked my son (let's say less than 10) a meeting with an eye doctor to settle an argument. Some
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    context my mother in law was once an eye nurse, she worked in the industry for ages and I am sure for everyone else
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    other than family her opinion would be valid..... however, she is also stubborn, a liar and one of those people who is never "wrong". You can
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    come at her with facts and she will just "oh well, If it was me... blah blah blah" So fast forward to my son. The school did an eye exam and sent him
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    home with a slip saying we should get his eyes checked. So off to the mall eye place I go and get his eyes tested, they come back with a -1.6.
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    They did multiple tests, drops, scans etc and a few weeks later, boom. He has glasses. Fast forward a few more weeks and almost
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    everything the MIL takes the kids she sneakily ensures my son doesn't have his glasses. She has even said on a few occasions "oh, you don't need those" What makes
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    it worse is it bleeds over to my partner, she has started getting "relaxed" with my sons glasses and on occasions has taken him out some mornings
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    without his glasses. I can't help but shake the feeling that the MIL and on some level my partner are hurt that I just acted and got him glasses. For
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    some more context my other son also has had glasses and has worn them for ages so as soon as the other sons diagnosis came in I just acted as if no big deal.
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    So here I find myself at the position that I want to sit down with my partner and an independent eye doctor and get their view
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    if all this glasses on glasses off things are hurting his eyes or not. Thoughts?
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    Just some added context, -1.5 means he is short- sighted and therefore can see his writing but stuff on the board could be fuzzy
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    Update: I realise my language term of boomer is causing some people harm. I apologise and will amend.
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    • pageofsomethi... 5h ago NTA, your son was already tested and needs glasses, and your wife and MIL aren't accepting that. You're right to set
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    up a new eye exam to settle the argument because the argument needs to be settled.
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    Does your insurance cover it, and when was the last eye exam? You all should be getting examined yearly anyway if your insurance covers it.
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    P.. NTA. She may not listen to the doctor though. Or may be mad that you are spending money to school her in this
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    But you do need to get on the same page as your wife. I take it that neither of you wear glasses. That
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    prescription is small enough that he could get by without them BUT will strain his eyes. They could get worse faster.
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    He probably has a low grade headache if he leaves them off for more than a couple hours.
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    That's a near-sighted prescription, so he probably doesn't need them to read a book, but
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    it would help him see the white board at the front of his classroom. It'll help him track a baseball to catch.
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    On the other hand, the prescription is big enough that he'd be required to wear them to drive a car.
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    Hopefully your wife can understand the difference they'll make. If she is hesitating because it's an inconvenience to her or she thinks he'll be teased, she needs to get over it.
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    Don't let your wife and MIL ruin this for your son. I have the same prescription and I won't leave the house without my glasses. They just make life so much easier.
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family drama doctor glasses family feud entitled people karma dad mother in law family karen entitled people Father
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