Before the divorce, she managed childcare herself but later searched for a nanny. She found one—her mother-in-law. Initially, she asked if she knew anyone available, and her mother-in-law offered her own services, of course, for a fee. Her salary isn’t very high, so she needs to be frugal.
At work, I have a colleague who is quite thrifty. She doesn’t spend on pampering herself and never visits beauty salons. I often wonder where her paycheck goes. She works, lives with her parents, and doesn’t have a mortgage like others; her child is looked after by her ex-mother-in-law, and she also receives child support.
It turns out Rachel has to pay her parents for her room and her mother-in-law for childcare. I wonder how that is possible…
Six months ago, when Rachel joined our company, we quickly became friends. It didn’t take long for us to discover many shared interests, and our children are the same age.
Rachel immediately confided in me about her divorce and moving back with her parents. They’re quite well-off, in their fifties and both holding good jobs. They’ve built a house in the countryside and spend holidays abroad. Upon Rachel’s return, they allocated a room in their house for her to live in.
I assumed she could stay there for free, but instead, her parents charged her rent from the start. She’s only thankful it’s her parents and not strangers, which is always better for the child.
They also assigned her a separate shelf in the fridge; she doesn’t use their provisions, though they occasionally share some fruit with the child.
I can’t fathom how they can behave this way, especially since Rachel had nothing after her separation and was in debt to them for the first few months.
Before the divorce, she took care of her child alone, but later searched for a nanny—finding her mother-in-law. She initially asked if she knew anyone to help, and her mother-in-law offered herself, but with payment involved. Rachel thought it was a good plan since her mother-in-law knows her grandson well—his likes, dislikes, and boundaries. She is reliable, so Rachel agreed for her to look after the child when necessary.
Everything would be fine, but Rachel struggles financially and can’t even indulge in small luxuries.
I can’t understand how parents can treat their own child this way…
