A first-time father has angered his parents after laying out strict rules for visiting his newborn son.
The dad and his wife welcomed their boy into the world three days ago, reports The Mirror , but the couple quickly found themselves under attack from family members.
Controversial rules included that there should be no more than four visitors at a time - an insistence which meant the father's parents were shut out from the room.
In a post on the social networking site Reddit, he new dad said: "My mother starts up and tells us that we've been very rude and cold and says that as grandmother, it's her right to visit the baby when she pleases and she shouldn't have to 'RSVP' to her grandson's birth."
The man, who calls himself a "very anxious parent", believes neither his nor his wife's family are clear on 'boundaries' regarding newborns.
As a result, he said, he drew up a series of rules and emailed them to family members.
"I felt a little overbearing, but my wife read it over and said it sounded fine," said the man.
His rules were are follows:
- You can't visit if you feel ill
- No children under 18 because 'schools are breeding grounds for viruses'
- Visitors to wear 'light' perfume or no perfume at all
- Always agree a visiting time first
- Visits only between the hours of 9am and 5pm
- No gifts because 'it'll be a hassle to bring home'
Keep visits between 3-4 people at a time
The first visitors to the baby were the man's aunt, her husband and their two adult children - which meant the man's own parents were not permitted entry.
However, the aunt decided to cut her visit short in order to allow the new grandparents to see their grandson for the first time.
An hour later, with the man's parents still present, his wife's parents arrived with another grandson in tow.
Recounting what happened next, the man said: "My wife tells them that they can't bring him in.
"Their grandson starts to cry and my mother-in-law starts to scold us for forbidding children, so my father pipes up saying that we're being too coddling.
"Then my mother starts up and tells us that we've been very rude and cold and says that as grandmother, it's her right to visit the baby when she pleases and she shouldn't have to 'RSVP' to her grandson's birth.
"She calls me impolite for sending out a 'demanding' email like I did and insists that if I regulate my son as strictly as I did his visits, he'll grow up resenting my wife and I."
The man added: "We told them to go, and my mother told me she raised me too well to have me be so rude to my own family.
"My mother-in-law said that if my wife didn't 'crack down on me', they'd never be visiting again.
"My wife has changed her tune about the whole thing and thinks I was being too combative.
"I really don't think I was that wrong in exercising my boundaries, and I think that them not listening is proof it was needed."
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