Photo: TikTok
She kept getting texts from him while on vacation.
By Ethan Cotler — Written on Feb 24, 2023
Going on vacation while you're a parent can be difficult — you either have to bring your kids with you or find a babysitter.
For many parents, family members feel like a safe and free option to take care of their kids.
However, sometimes even their own parents can be an unreliable option.
A mom spied on her dad via Ring camera babysitting his grandkid and decided ‘never again.’
A lifestyle and design blogger mom posted on the video-sharing app TikTok of Ring camera footage and text messages with her dad taking care of her son, Arlo, while she and her husband were on vacation.
The first Ring screenshot she shares in the video shows her dad and Arlo leaving for school.
In addition to being late, she pointed out that her son was missing an essential school item.
On top of the video, she writes, “Heading to school 30 mins late without a backpack.”
Grandparents struggling with technology is nothing new, but when it came to preparing food for her son, it becomes a bit more serious.
The mom shared a screenshot of texts with her dad figuring out her toaster.
He asks her how to make toast, with a photo of the options on the toaster oven.
“The one that looks like bread all the way to the left,” she texts him. He ignores her message and opts to use the “pizza” option. At least her son got fed!
Her dad continues to ask her food-related questions.
She shares texts where he asks, “Where is guacamole and sour cream?”
She tells him where in the fridge both items are located. He responds by saying that he has found the sour cream but asks again where the guacamole is, despite her telling him exactly where it is.
A photo of pizza texted to her was the next and final round of her grandad’s questioning that she shared.
Refrigerating cooked food is a rule of thumb that most people understand, except for this grandad.
He asks if he should put the pizza in the refrigerator.
“Yes you should refrigerate leftover pizza,” the mom responds.
Next, she asked him for photos of her child — which he refused to send.
“Can you send me some pictures of Arlo tonight?” she asked.
“Why?” she says that he responded with. “You know what he looks like.”
The mom concludes the video with a text message she sent to one of her family members asking to “secretly” take and send a photo of the grandad. The photo shows him drinking a beer, assumedly not paying attention to the grandkids.
Some people are upset with the grandad’s actions.
“This caused me unreasonable amounts of stress,” one user commented.
“At this point who is babysitting who!” another wrote.
Many commenters suggested that grandparents are past their prime for child care. People aired out their similarly frustrating experiences in the comments.
“I had to leave my parents a whole binder of instructions when we left for a weekend and still got the texts,” one user wrote.
“I left my 2-year-old with my mother when in labor; had to text throughout while pushing [the baby] out,” another person wrote. “Then she called at night that I must come back.”
However, spending time with grandparents is essential.
Many applauded the grandad for taking care of his grandson.
“This is the sweetest thing. They’re making memories and your son is alive!! He’ll always remember,” one person commented.
“This is sweet. Don’t be stressed, your kid will remember amazing times with grandpa,” another added.
Spending time with loving grandparents is valuable for children. On top of that, taking time to yourself away from children is crucial as well.
This mom’s post is one of many examples that prove parenting never really ends.
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Ethan Cotler is a writer living in Boston. He writes on entertainment and news.