My Four-Year-Old Pleaded With Me Not to Leave Her at My Mother-in-Law’s, So I Showed Up at Her House Unannounced

My four-year-old suddenly started begging me not to take her to my mother-in-law’s house. One morning she grabbed my face and said, “You pick me up today, not Dad. Then you’ll understand.” I decided to show up early.

Through the kitchen window, I saw a ring light, a phone on a tripod, and my exhausted daughter being told to smile for baking videos posted online. What was supposed to be “fun with Grandma” had turned into repeated takes for social media views.

I walked in and stopped it immediately. The account was deleted that day, and the filming ended. Now they bake without cameras—and my daughter is happy again.