"AITA for forcing my DIL to come home from her trip to return all the house keys that she made for my home?"
I sometimes babysit my grandchildren when my kids need me to. This is about my son’s wife Jenny and her sister Samantha. My son is overseas for work at the moment, and Jenny was taking a girls trip this week. The original plan was for me to watch the two grandkids from Monday to Friday. Their trip is a three hour drive away.
I have only ever given my son keys to my home, and they are only used in emergencies. This morning I came downstairs and saw that the kids were not in their beds. I panicked because they were not in the house, and I found them in the backyard with Samantha, who I do not know.
She let herself in and took the kids outside to play. When I asked how she got in, she admitted that Jenny gave her a copy of my keys, and apparently all her siblings have copies to my house.
I called Jenny, and she admitted it and said it was not a big deal since she lets her siblings come over whenever they want. I told her she needed to come back right now. I said this was a huge overstep and that I would not babysit after this. I explained that I thought the grandkids were missing because of this.
She asked if I was serious, and I told her I was. I also told her she needed to collect all the copies and give them to me. I am also thinking of changing my locks. I tried to call my son, but he did not pick up. It is a different time zone, and when I called, it was nighttime for him. I sent a basic explanation in a text and he will probably call me when he wakes up.
Jenny collected the kids and is calling me an awful person for making her come back and hand over the keys. I made it very clear that this was the last time I would babysit for a long time.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
Successful_Voice8542 says:
You need a doorbell camera. And I am a senior citizen and have a keyless front door entry and love it. I gave my children and their spouses their own code and can let someone in via my app if I want to (like a dog walker, or in case of emergencies). And my homeowners insurance company gave me a discount so it was a very worthwhile investment.
Inevitable_Author018 says:
She gave a teenager keys to your house without telling you? NTA I would be furious. I would also have a locksmith out to change every lock and send the bill straight to DIL. How ridiculous.
Ready-Conflict-1887 says:
Nah that situation could be dangerous. Seriously you're right change the locks.
Captain-AwkwardPants says:
NTA but I’d forget about the keys and just replace the locks. Who knows if the siblings made copies for their friends or something.
What do you think?