“Mother-in-law arrives seeking free labor — departs stripped of her ‘grandmother rights'”
Tanya sat at the kitchen table, scrolling through the calendar on her phone. “Vadim, I’ve been thinking about summer… Maybe we should send the kids to camp? Ira really wanted to go last year!”
Vadim looked up from his laptop, fixing his gaze on his wife.
“What about our vacation? Didn’t we want to go to the sea together?” he asked.
“We’ll go to the sea in August, July is still open,” Tanya explained. “Usually, the kids spent that time with your mother, but…” Her words trailed off as a shadow passed between them. Vadim frowned; the memories of last July were still raw.
“Don’t remind me! We won’t send the kids to her anymore!”
Tanya recalled the sight of Ira and Dima returning from their grandmother’s countryside home. Both looked thin and lifeless, their eyes dull. Dima had bruises on his knees and Ira on her elbows. Most distressing was their frightened expression when Tanya asked about their time there.
“Do you remember how they cried?” Tanya whispered.
Vadim put down his coffee cup.
“Of course! Dima woke screaming at night twice, terrified we would send him back to grandma!”
“I still can’t forgive myself for letting them go there,” Tanya said anxiously, nervously fiddling with the dishes on the table. “There were warning signs! Remember two years ago when Ira came home unusually quiet? Or last time, when the kids were scared of every little sound?”
“Tanya, we couldn’t have known,” Vadim consoled, putting his arm around her. “The children were too young to explain what was happening. And my mother… I never imagined she’d be capable of such things!”
They both recalled the evening the children finally confided the truth. Raisa Viktorovna awoke them at six every morning and forced them to work in the garden—pulling weeds, picking berries, watering plants. Any minor mistake was punished with slaps on their hands, back, or legs. The refrigerator was locked, and food was strictly given only after labor.
“‘Life in the village means hard work!'” Tanya mocked her mother-in-law’s harsh words. “How could anyone treat children like that? Ira is only seven, Dima five. What kind of hard work is that for little kids?”
“She always was strict,” Vadim said thoughtfully, “But I never thought she’d ever raise a hand against a child. Especially not her own grandchildren! She never hit me when I was a child, or ever in fact!”
Tanya vividly remembered the trembling voice of her daughter when she told how her grandmother locked her in the closet for two hours just because she took an apple without permission. Or how Dima tearfully admitted the grandmother called him a young parasite when he couldn’t complete her chores.
“I’m so glad you called her and told her everything back then!” Tanya took Vadim’s hand. “Do you remember how she screamed? Even I heard her shouting from the other end!”
Vadim winced.
“She still claims we spoiled the kids and that she was trying to teach them ‘work skills.’ She even called recently to ask when we would bring the children this summer!”
“And what did you say?”
“Never! I told her straight: ‘Mom, the kids won’t come to you anymore. Never.’ She didn’t believe me and thinks you turned me against her!”
Tanya shook her head.
“Typical! It’s easier to blame the daughter-in-law than admit mistakes!”
Vadim hugged his wife tightly.
“You have no idea how grateful I am that you insisted on talking to the kids back then. Without you, we would never have learned what was really happening at mom’s place. The kids were too afraid to tell us themselves if you hadn’t started untangling the situation.”
“It’s been a year now,” Tanya rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. “We had a wonderful time together. The kids started to smile and laugh again. Ira even stopped fearing the dark.”
“And it will never be the same as before,” Vadim said grimly. “No matter what happens, our children will never see my mother again—at least not until they grow up and decide whether they want to have a relationship with her.”
Tanya nodded, gazing out the window. Summer lay ahead, and she was already planning family trips to the sea—playing, swimming, and sunbathing without the fear their children would return from their grandmother with new traumas—physical or otherwise.
What they did not know was that Raisa Viktorovna had already bought a ticket to their city and was preparing to present them with a ‘surprise’ that would shake the entire family.
The morning was hectic, as usual on weekdays. Vadim gulped his coffee, kissed Tanya on the cheek, and rushed to work. Before leaving, he lifted Dima into the air, prompting peals of joyous laughter, and then gave Ira a tight hug as she busily attempted to braid her hair.
“Will you be late today?” Tanya asked at the door.
“Probably not, but I’ll call if anything,” Vadim replied, already stepping into the stairwell. “Have a good day!”
After he left, Tanya turned her attention to the children. Dima was fussing over breakfast, and Ira was struggling to find her favorite pink headband.
“Mom, why don’t we visit grandma in the summer?” Dima suddenly asked, poking at his porridge with a spoon.
Tanya froze; the question took her by surprise.
“Do you want to go to grandma’s?” she cautiously inquired.
Dima shook his head vigorously.
“No! Misha from my group says everyone visits their grandmas in summer! But I told him I wouldn’t go because our grandma is mean!”
“Dima, you shouldn’t say that!” Tanya said automatically, though inside she agreed with her son.
“But it’s true!” Ira interrupted, entering the kitchen with the found headband. “Mom, remember when she locked me in the shed because I didn’t want to weed the garden? There were spiders!”
Tanya crouched down, clasping her children’s hands.
“Listen, your dad and I have already decided—you won’t be going to visit grandma anymore. This is final, okay? We’re all going to the sea together, and if you want, you can go to camp after. Then we’ll get Ira ready for school! How does that sound?”
The children nodded happily, and the conversation ended there. Half an hour later, Tanya dropped them off at kindergarten and returned home to continue her remote translation work for a scientific journal.
Around noon, Tanya finished half her tasks and took a break while brewing tea. The doorbell rang unexpectedly. Curious, she approached and peeked through the peephole. What she saw froze her: Raisa Viktorovna stood at the threshold carrying a huge bag.
“Open up, I know you’re home!” the mother-in-law shouted, pressing the bell repeatedly.
Tanya took a deep breath. She didn’t want to face her mother-in-law, but ignoring her was futile—Raisa Viktorovna clearly had no intention of leaving.
“Raisa Viktorovna, what a surprise!” Tanya said, opening the door. “You didn’t warn us you were coming!”
“Should I have?” the mother-in-law barged inside pulling the bag behind her. “I’m here for my grandchildren, not for you! Where are Ira and Dima?”
“They’re at kindergarten,” Tanya replied, watching as Raisa inspected the apartment without invitation.
“Kindergarten? You want that? It ruins children, making them helpless!” Raisa snorted. “You don’t care about the kids at all! I’d have them outside all day long!”
“You mean in the garden?” Tanya could not help but retort.
Raisa Viktorovna fixed her with a cold stare.
“Looks like you still have that stubborn character! Soon we’ll be going to my place, then we can talk! I’m here for the grandchildren—it’s time for them to return to the countryside, fresh air, fresh milk…”
“What do you mean ‘here for the grandchildren’?!” Tanya’s anger boiled beneath her calm tone. “We never agreed to the children going to you this summer! Besides, it’s only April!”
“What’s there to agree on?” Raisa headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge as if she owned the place. “Every summer the grandchildren stay with grandma! It’s the proper way! Last year they didn’t come, and not the year before either! I kept waiting, thinking you’d change your minds! But I see I’ll have to raise them myself!”
“Raise them?” Tanya gasped with outrage. “Raisa Viktorovna, you clearly don’t understand! The kids won’t be going to you anymore. Ever! Vadim already told you that!”
Raisa slammed the fridge door and faced Tanya.
“It’s all your fault!” Her voice grew louder. “You’re turning my son and my grandchildren against me! Vadim would never prevent the kids from seeing their own grandmother if it weren’t for your lies!”
“Lies?” Tanya smiled bitterly. “I don’t have to tell Vadim anything. Showing the bruises on the children’s bodies after they returned from your place said everything!”
Raisa’s face flushed deep red.
“Children always have bruises! They run and fall—that’s normal! Your pampered raising is what’s abnormal! Life’s no picnic; you have to teach them work from an early age!”
“Work?” Tanya felt her fists clench tightly. “You call it work when a five-year-old toils in the garden all day? When a seven-year-old girl is locked in a shed just for wanting to take an apple?”
“Don’t exaggerate!” Raisa waved it off. “I have order and discipline! Unlike you, spoiled the kids to death!”
Tanya realized the argument was going nowhere. Raisa would never admit her faults or understand that children should not be treated like labor.
“Raisa Viktorovna,” Tanya calmed herself and said, “You may think whatever you want, but the children will never go to you again. This is not just my decision but Vadim’s too.”
“Vadim will come, and we’ll talk then!” Raisa snapped, sitting at the table. “Meanwhile, pack the children’s things! In two days, we leave!”
Tanya was stunned by such audacity, but she knew this was only the beginning.
“No one is going anywhere!” she declared, crossing her arms. “You came here for nothing!”
Raisa narrowed her eyes, looking at Tanya with undisguised contempt.
“Why so defiant? You used to give the kids without question. I know the truth—you city softies don’t want to work!”
“Work?” Tanya felt her anger rise again. “A five-year-old should be playing, not weeding! A seven-year-old should be reading books, not hauling water!”
Raisa snorted.
“That’s why you’ll raise worthless kids! At my age, I did all the housework! And Vadim worked the farm with his father from age ten!”
“And he now tries to spend every free minute with his kids because he missed out on his own childhood?”
Raisa slammed her fist on the table.
“Enough psychology! Childhood is just learning adult life! What you call is just spoiled behavior!”
Tanya sighed, attempting to keep calm. Arguing with Raisa was futile—they had completely different perspectives on raising children.
“Tell me,” Tanya changed tack, “Why do you want the grandchildren for the summer? To help with gardening?”
Raisa momentarily faltered at such a blunt question.
“Nonsense! I’m a grandmother and want to spend time with my grandchildren!”
“Spending time means playing, talking, reading books together—not making them work while you gossip on the bench!”
“How dare you speak to me like that!” Raisa shouted, rising from her chair. “I am your husband’s mother! I raised Vadim, and he’s never been ungrateful!”
“It’s not about gratitude,” Tanya answered calmly despite her fury inside. “It’s about my children’s safety! You don’t know how to treat them! And why should I be thankful?”
“I don’t know how?” Raisa gasped defensively. “I raised three children! And you think you’ll tell me how to deal with my grandchildren?”
“I will!” Tanya replied firmly. “Because these are my children, and I won’t allow anyone to hurt them—not even you!”
Raisa seemed to grow in size from rage.
“So? Fine! I’ll get to the grandchildren whether you allow it or not! Vadim will help me! He won’t refuse his own mother!”
“He will,” Tanya smirked. “He already refused when you called last time! And the time before that!”
“It’s all your doing!” Raisa screeched. “You turn my own son against me! And I could even report you to child services! Say you starve them, keep them locked indoors!”
Tanya paled. She hadn’t expected this threat.
“Are you seriously threatening us with child services? For what? For not letting you use our children as free labor?”
“Don’t say that!” Raisa jabbed a finger at Tanya. “I taught my grandchildren to work the land! It’s a valuable skill, not exploitation!”
“Ira told me you made her weed a whole carrot bed under the scorching sun, and when she asked for water, you sent her to the shed to think about her behavior—and then locked her in so she wouldn’t escape!”
“She’s lying!” Raisa brushed it off. “No one locked her in! And she needed to earn the water!”
“Earn water?” Tanya couldn’t believe her ears. “A child isn’t allowed to drink water until the work is done? Seriously?”
“Otherwise, they’ll run back and forth and do nothing!” Raisa insisted. “Discipline is necessary!”
Tanya took a deep breath. Now was not the time to argue pedagogical theories.
“In any case, our decision is final,” Tanya stated firmly. “Vadim fully supports it! We won’t be giving the children to you.”
“What do you understand?” Raisa snapped. “You’ll ruin my grandchildren with your modern ideas! They’ll end up lazy and useless!”
“Better to be happy children than scared to breathe freely like overworked robots,” Tanya shot back.
Raisa’s face flushed crimson.
“You!” she pointed at Tanya. “It’s all your fault!”
“Your grandchildren hate you, so they won’t be going back! And Vadim agrees, even though you’re his mother!”
“You’ve all conspired against me! But I’ll get my way!” Raisa yelled, her eyes gleaming with something that made Tanya step back.
With those words, the mother-in-law grabbed her bag and struck Tanya sharply on the shoulder.
The hit took Tanya by surprise. She staggered but stayed standing, clutching the wall.
“Are you crazy?” she shouted, rubbing her sore shoulder.
Raisa, without answering, swung the heavy bag again. But Tanya was ready this time—she caught it mid-air and yanked it forcefully. Taken aback, Raisa lost her balance and clung desperately to the handles.
“Give it back!” she hissed. “That’s my bag!”
“And this is my apartment!” Tanya pulled the bag free, standing her ground. “You’re a guest here, an uninvited one at that!”
Raisa tried to grab the bag back, but Tanya stepped back and gripped the handles tightly. Years of resentment, sleepless nights with sobbing children after visits to grandmother, and seeing bruises on their small bodies—all ignited Tanya’s resolve.
“Get out of my house!” she demanded firmly, pointing to the door. “Right now!”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” Raisa lunged to grab the bag again, but Tanya retreated.
“I have the right to see my grandchildren!” Raisa shouted.
“Right?” Tanya smiled bitterly. “What right do you have to children terrorized half to death? Kids waking screaming at night because they dream of your punishments?”
Raisa threw herself forward, trying to grab Tanya’s hair, but Tanya dodged and, to her own surprise, swung the bag, which struck Raisa’s shoulder with a dull thud. Raisa gasped and took a step back, clutching the sore spot.
“You… you hit your husband’s mother!” she hissed, eyes flashing triumph. “Vadim will find out!”
“Let him,” Tanya answered calmly. “And I’ll tell him how you hit me first! And threatened child services! He’ll back me up!”
Raisa froze, trying to recall her own words. Her face shifted from confusion to anger.
“Leave!” Tanya commanded, opening the front door. “Now!”
“I’m not leaving without my grandchildren!” Raisa stubbornly crossed her arms.
Tanya sighed, placing the bag on the floor.
“Fine,” she said, pulling out her phone. “Then I’m calling the police. You’ll explain why you refuse to leave a stranger’s home!”
Raisa’s expression contorted with rage, but a flicker of fear showed in her eyes. Reluctantly, she moved toward the door but paused on the threshold.
“This isn’t over!” she threatened. “I’ll take my grandchildren, whether you want it or not!”
Tanya silently lifted the bag and handed it back. Raisa snatched it but could not say a word before Tanya sharply pushed the door, forcing her mother-in-law into the hallway. Raisa stumbled, falling to her knees and dropping the bag.
“You…!” she began, trying to stand, but Tanya, driven by anger and maternal fear, stepped forward and kicked her firmly in a sensitive area. Raisa collapsed on the stairwell floor, then pulled herself up on all fours, eyes full of hatred.
“You’ll regret this!” she hissed.
“No,” Tanya replied firmly, closing the door. “You’ll regret trying to take my children from me. Now leave before you get worse!”
She locked all the doors and leaned back against them, breathing heavily. Only then did Tanya feel her knees trembling. What had she done—kicked her mother-in-law out, struck her, thrown out her belongings? Vadim would be furious.
With trembling hands, Tanya dialed her husband’s number.
“Vadim!” her voice was hoarse. “Your mother came! She tried to take the kids!”
“What?!” disbelief edged Vadim’s voice. “Mom is here? Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She…” Tanya hesitated, unsure how to begin. “Vadim, we had a conflict! She hit me with her bag, I responded! I kicked her out and…”
Silence stretched on the other end.
“Vadim?” Tanya called nervously.
“She hit you?” his voice turned steel. “I’m coming right now!”
Vadim arrived twenty minutes later. He listened quietly as Tanya recounted the events, clenching his fists ever tighter.
“Where is she now?” he asked once Tanya finished.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Probably at a hotel or at Masha’s, your cousin’s place.”
He nodded and took out his phone.
“Mom,” he began when Raisa answered. “I know everything. I am ashamed. Not for Tanya, but for you.”
Raisa tried to speak, but Vadim cut her off.
“I don’t want to hear it! You came to my house, threatened my wife, tried to hit her! You wanted to take my children against our will! You’ve gone too far!”
He paused, listening to her response.
“And yes, the kids truly can’t stand you,” he said finally. “And after today, I don’t want to see you ever again!”
He ended the call and embraced Tanya.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have foreseen this could happen.”
“It’s not your fault,” Tanya laid her head on his chest. “What matters is that we’re together and the kids are safe.”
Vadim nodded, holding her tighter.
“We’ll get through this,” he assured her. “No one will threaten our family anymore. Not even my own mother.”
Time passed, and life slowly returned to normal. Raisa tried calling and sending angry messages, but Vadim blocked her number. When summer arrived, the family went to the sea—all together, just as planned. Ira and Dima played in the sand, learned to swim, ate ice cream, and laughed without fear. No one shouted at them or forced them to work; no one locked them away. For the first time in a long while, their eyes sparkled with joy and love.
“A family united in love and protection can overcome even the deepest wounds.”
This story reveals the challenges that come from clashing generational perspectives on child-rearing and the importance of standing firm to protect what matters most: the well-being and happiness of children.
In conclusion, the conflict between Tanya and her mother-in-law underscores how outdated expectations and methods can cause harm when imposed on younger generations. Prioritizing children’s emotional and physical safety must always come first, and sometimes it requires courage to defy tradition and protect family bonds from toxic influences. The family’s united front against adversity ultimately brought peace and happiness back into their lives.