My Mother-in-Law Destroyed My Property to "Protect" Our Family. She's Gone Too Far.

"Two weeks ago, we had to rush our dog to the emergency vet after he got into some oatmeal raisin cookies. Lucinda happened to be visiting at the time and stayed to watch Logan—and, it turns out, wreak havoc on our home. When we got back with our dog hours later, we found Logan in tears and all three of our TVs missing. He told us that Grandma had taken them."

"When I asked my mother-in-law where they were, she said she destroyed them because "'they' were using them to spy on us." (She then said something antisemitic.) I went out to the garbage can in our side yard to find them inside and with the screens smashed. I was furious and told Lucinda she would have to pay for new ones."

"Her mother's insanity cost us over $2,300 in property damage, and upset and frightened our son. Not to mention, I don't want him exposed to racist conspiracy theories. Given that these facts are failing to register with my wife, I have a right to protect Logan and make my MIL pay for the damage she caused, right?"

A father seeks advice after his mother-in-law destroyed three televisions while babysitting his 5-year-old son, claiming they were surveillance devices used to spy on the family. She also made antisemitic comments. The incident caused over $2,300 in damage, traumatized the child, and exposed him to racist conspiracy theories. The father wants to pursue legal action for damages and ban the grandmother from unsupervised contact with his son. His wife, however, is reluctant to escalate the situation and asks him to let the matter go. The father believes he has both a right and duty to protect his child from further exposure to his mother-in-law's behavior and conspiracy-driven worldview.

Read at Slate Magazine