Daughter chews out 60-year-old grandma who planned vacation for herself while 12 and 10-year-old grandchildren are in school, not being available to babysit

JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor

Nov 13, 2026 10:00 AM EST

If you're a grandparent, doesn't that entitle you to some time away from raising children?

When you're a grandparent, you might have had your fill of caring for small children. You did you job, and your kids are out of the house, and they have their own kids. You probably have life you look forward to living, and stuff that you want to do with your newfound free time. This doesn't always have to include being available to babysit at a moment's notice. It takes a village indeed, and it's nice to be able to rely on others to help you out with childcare. It's a perk of living around parents or family, and the benefit usually goes both ways. This is how we did things once upon a time when we lived in tribes and took care of each others' young, a long time before we had notions of individuality and whatnot. We helped others so that we got help in return, in a big beautiful cycle that perpetuated throughout time. This is just how things went and we were probably better for it. Less of the burden of childcare rested on our shoulders and we got closer with our neighbors. Plus, our kids get parental influence from all different kinds of adults, which is a great thing for development.

*_{Scene is illustrative and does not depict actual individuals or events.}*
*A grandmother hugs her young grandchild close to her*

There is a difference, though, between being part of the village and taking advantage of the village. You have to learn your place in the community and not expect other people to take over one hundred percent of your responsibilities. You still have duties and you can't fork them off completely. You can't burden the people that you love with the choices that you made for yourself. You're responsible for your own children at the end of the day, and you should try not to lose sight of that. That's what one mother was trying to do, though, when she relied a little too hard on her mother's help with her children. What started out as a nice favor from her mother became a little bit of a burden. And the grandmother in question just wanted a little bit of time to do what she pleased with it. After all, she already spent so much time being a mother. She didn't want to lose all her free time again. But when she tried to live her own life, she was reprimanded. Read on for the story.