Mom of 16-month-old "fires" Grandma over $5 toddler class

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 30, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

A lot of modern grandparents are surprised when their kids cut off their access to the grandkids… 

Ever been to one of those "Mommy and me" type classes for babies? They are loud, rambunctious, messy, and a lot of fun for the children involved. Parents tend to find these types of things… bearable. But grating. Perhaps headache-inducing, but worth it to see your child laughing and playing along. It's a sacrifice we make for our kids, because we love them deeply.

This Grandmother chose to lie to her own child instead of being honest about why she's skipping out on a 2-hour toddler class with her grand daughter, and it's causing a rift in the family. 

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  • Grandma and grandchild happily bake a meal together.
    via Getty Images

    Grandma and grandchild happily bake a meal together.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • My husband and I have a 16 month old daughter, Ellie. I just went back to work part time and I had my mom watching Ellie 2 days a week.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • Ellie goes to this little toddler class through our rec center twice a week. It's a 2 hour class and every class has free play, a circle time with a story and song, and an art project.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • During free play the kids have 4 different table stations that they could visit including an art table, a corner of the room with all cars, trucks, and trains, the house corner with a kitchen and baby dolls, the dramatic play area (changes biweekly, I've seen a grocery store, vets office, and pizza shop), the book area, the block area, and the patio.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • The patio has 2 water tables, 2 playhouses, a sandbox, tricycles, and little tykes cars. Each class is only $5.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • Parents/caregivers are required to stay and supervise their children. Ellie loves this class. She's addicted to the chalkboards there and is starting to approach other babies.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • She does taste test every foam block in the room and has eaten her fair share of crayons and finger paint, on top of drenching herself in water then rolling around in the sandbox and covering her in paint but it's nothing that can't be solved without a change of clothes and hosing her off.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • I love how great the class is for her development. She is starting to know the names of colors and she can sit down and play with toys for longer stretches.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • Toddler looks up adoringly at grandmother while they decorate cookies together.
    via Getty Images

    Toddler looks up adoringly at grandmother while they decorate cookies together. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • My mom hated the toddler classes. She describes it as chaos and insists that a walk around the block or a trip to the library is just as good, if not better for her development and is much less messy.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • I still insisted that she take Ellie, which she agreed to, then stopped taking her behind my back.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • I only noticed when I realized we haven't gotten art projects back in a while. Since she lied to me about where she's been going with my daughter and refused to take her to a class that I truly believe is good for her, I "fired" my mom from babysitting and hired a college student to stay with her while I'm working.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • Now my mom is upset that I'm restricting her access to her granddaughter and leaving her with a stranger, which is the one thing she was trying to prevent by babysitting my daughter for me.
    via Rich-Radio9017
  • Now I want to know if I was the ahle for firing my mom and not having Ellie see her nearly as much over a $5 class.
    via Rich-Radio9017

  • When you're a grandparent, you don't always get to make the rules. Your child does, and you have to follow them. 

    Some grandparents seem to think that since they're older, that they have seniority over their own child's wishes. But that's just not the case, and a lot of grandparents find this out the hard way. They insist upon doing things the way they want to, and when they go against the wishes of their child, they lose access to their grandkid. 

    In this grandma's place, she lied to her own child! That is a big warning flag, and she'll have to truly apologize if she wants even a chance at seeing her grandkid agian. It's just not okay to do that. If she didn't like going to the classes, she should've just insisted on seeing her grandchild a different day, or suggested a different class… there are a lot of paths she could've taken. Now she'll just have to live with the consequences. 

    People had some good advice for both the Mom and Grandmom. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10618564352
    via Disastrous-Assist

    If Grandma is only watching the baby 2 days a week, maybe it's worth looking into a part time nanny instead. Maybe Grandma could see the baby for just one day, or maybe just every now and then during a supervised visit. It doesn't have to be all or nothing: there might be an easy compromise that lets Grandma know the rules are the rules, but still lets her into the grandkid's life. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10618565376
    via Soft-Tangelo-6884
  • Cheezburger Image 10618564864
    via Soft-Tangelo-6884

  • These classes are a lot to handle

    Cheezburger Image 10618564608
    via Lighthouse_on_Mars
  • It s ks that she's losing out on time with her granddaughter, but that's just how life works. Either she puts up with the obnoxious loud class with other kids in it. Or she doesn't and loses time that could have been spent with her granddaughter. It's as simple as that.
    via Lighthouse_on_Mars
  • Grandmother and toddler play together.
    via Getty Images

    Grandmother and toddler play together.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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