She wanted a housekeeper — she got a nanny.
One stay-at-home mom appears to have considerable regrets after hiring a cleaner to lighten her load — only to find herself in competition with the new employee for her darling daughter’s affection.
The anonymous and aggravated parent took to Mumsnet to complain about being sidelined from her only job, saying that she feels like her child “loves’ the housekeeper more than her.
Originally, the woman made the hire to keep days free to spend in the park, at museums or at playdates with her two-year-old, before coming home to cook dinner for her husband, who works out of the home full-time, the Mirror reported.
Only when the mother has to go to the doctor, or on other non-child-friendly errands, is the housekeeper supposed to step in and look after the little one.
But the floor-scrubber has gone from background player to baby’s first BFF, in no time at all,, the mom explained.
“If [the] housekeeper is home when we are, she will prefer to play with her over me and actively tell me ‘go away mommy’ if I walk into the room they are playing in,” she wrote.
“If I’m dressing her for the walk she will request that (the housekeeper) does it instead. I don’t stop them and it’s now turned into them playing together just after her nap because if I ask whether she wants to go outside, [my] daughter will say no she wants to play at home with the housekeeper rather than go with me to the park or do anything with me,” she complained.
A small army of fellow moms rushed to reassure the distressed party, with some suggesting that the daughter is just going through “a phase.”
“I’m assuming that the housekeeper doesn’t do any discipline and all the other boring parent stuff,” one commenter advised. “She’s just fun so I don’t think it’s that unusual she wants to play with her.”
“It’s probably just excitement of seeing somebody new a few times a week,” another suggested.
A third offered: “If she falls over and bangs herself and still wants you then you’ve not lost it mothering wise. Just relax and be grateful you picked the right person for your child.”
Others were far less gentle.
“You’re jealous of your nanny/housekeeper, I’m jealous of you actually getting to mother your child all day rather than juggling it with housework,” sniped one seemingly put-upon parent.
Still another warned her against taking the situation lightly, urging the worried mother to simply “get rid” of the competition.