Mom Demanding Daughter-in-Law's Attention During Work Hours Slammed

The internet has slammed a mother-in-law for expecting her son's partner to spend more time with her during work hours.

In a now-viral post on the popular discussion site Mumsnet, user redkitesatnight expressed her concern about her daughter-in-law "stepping back" from the family.

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships have a reputation for being tricky. Despite the stereotypes, a survey by The Mother-in-law Project that consulted 807 women found that more than half of women said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their relationship with their mother-in-law.

When it comes to time spent with your partner's family, 38 percent of daughters-in-law said they spend more time with their own side of the family than their in-laws, while 27 percent say they spend an equal amount of time with both families.

Fifty-one percent of mothers-in-law report being satisfied or very satisfied with the amount of time they spend with their child and daughter-in-law, but this Mumsnet user made clear that she was not pleased with the amount of time her son's fiancee was spending with the family.

In the post, she wrote: "I have three sons, one engaged and two single. This is about my son who is engaged. We have always liked his fiance, she can be a bit OTT [over the top] sometimes and dramatic but my son loves her very much and we have always welcomed her and she has played an active role in the family."

But she said she recently noticed a change and felt her son's fiancee had "taken a noticeable step back in the family."

She explained that her daughter-in-law appeared to be less involved with the family and said: "When visiting she is 'working from home' on weekday visits and sits up in room working. She has twice criticised one of my sons to me when they have upset their brother (my son who is her fiance), when I just leave my sons to it and don't see harm in it."

The mom also expressed concern that her daughter-in-law was still in frequent communication with another son's ex-wife following a split she said "got messy but I stood by my son, as any mother would."

Concerned about what she perceived as her daughter-in-law stepping away from the family, she said: "I'm worried what will happen if they have children. Will she end up making my son distant from his family? What can we do to help matters?"

After reading the woman's concerns, Mumsnet users rushed to slam her reaction and side with the daughter-in-law.

"Why would you visit someone at their home during their working hours?" asked one confused Mumsnet user.

The poster explained the couple often comes to visit for the weekend on a Thursday and spends the Friday at their home where her daughter-in-law works during the day.

"You are very very unreasonable to think she can just take time away to entertain you," said another commenter, while another agreed: "If she's working from home she probably can't step away from the desk. It is not rude. She may find it rude that you regularly disturb her at work."

"If she's coming down after she's finished and interacting normally, then there is no problem. When she's working, she's working," said another reply.

Newsweek was unable to verify the details of this case.