Woman Doesn’t Like The Fact Her Grandchild Looks More Like Daughter-In-Law Than Her Son, Driving Everyone Crazy

“What is my MIL’s obsession with wanting to disassociate my son from me?”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• November 29, 2023

Our narrator (Original Poster) was the proud parent of a bubbly 7-month-old. From the moment her little one entered the world, his evolving appearance was a curious case.

Initially, the tiny tot bore a striking resemblance to his darker-skinned dad, but as time passed, a delightful twist in genetics occurred.

His once-dark complexion now gave way to a remarkable pastiness courtesy of OP’s Western European heritage. Coupled with his deep blue eyes, he was the spitting image of OP—though one person begged to differ. 

What caught OP off guard was not the evolution of their son's appearance but the reactions it triggered, particularly from her mother-in-law.

With a keen eye, she adamantly insisted that the baby was, beyond a doubt, an exact duplicate of OP’s husband during his infant days. This wasn’t true at all; OP tried to correct her, but she brashly rejected any opposing statements. 

Her husband even backed her up, pointing out their son’s fair skin, but the mother-in-law wouldn’t budge. Rather than acknowledging the observation, she confidently asserted that the baby's skin would undoubtedly undergo a change.

What started as a light-hearted banter was becoming exasperating for OP. Why was her mother-in-law hellbent on dissociating her from her own child? 

Unsure of how to handle this, OP solicits the help of the online community. Is this a typical scenario with mother-in-laws? 

Let’s dig into the details

A little background

OP’s MIL has a habit of trying to disassociate her son’s looks from her side of the family

Here’s how the Reddit community reacted to the story:

“People often see their nearest and dearest in the faces of babies born to the family.”

“It’s just natural for grandparents to want to ‘claim’ some aspect of their grandkid.“

“My MIL does that. EVERY SINGLE ATTRIBUTE of my son, he gets from someone in her family. Sweet tooth? Her father. Height? Her brother.”

“It could be that your son  has expressions that remind her of your husband at that age, which is pretty normal for relatives to see.”

Seems a lot of parents go through this with their MIL’s

“My MIL did the same exact thing. She said our baby looked like everyone on their side.”

“My son loves to crunch ice cubes, MIL was desperate to find out who in her family he got that from. I just laughed as I sat there crunching ice with him.”

According to this Redditors mom, “Everyone wants their baby to look like their own side of the family.”

From the Reddit community’s response, it was indeed a typical scenario with most mothers-in-laws. People often hope to see the reflections of their loved ones in the newest additions to the family—she is simply seeing what she wants to see.

Stories poured in, citing similar comedic instances and reassuring OP she wasn’t alone. 

They urged OP not to take it to heart. Babies were a unique blend of both parents, but if her mother-in-law is happier seeing only the parts of her son within him, then OP should let her revel in seeing her son’s reflection. 

What do you think about this story? Let us know in the comments. 

Jesse