Looking after children is basically a job. Indeed, for many a babysitter and nanny, it is literally what puts food on the table. Statistics show that the more children one adds to the “job,” the higher the prices go, that’s just the way of the world.
So when she was asked to babysit 16 whole kids for free, one teenager, naturally, declined, then was shocked to find herself on the receiving end of insults and yelling from their particularly entitled parents. So she stood her ground, got her immediate family involved and the drama grew.
Babysitting an entire birthday party for free sounds like a tast straight out of hell
Image credits: halfpoint (not the actual photo)
So one teen turned down such a gig, then found herself in the crosshairs of her extended family
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Zinkevych_D (not the actual photo)
OP gave readers an update on what happened next
Image credits: Askar Abayev (not the actual photo)
Image source: Itchy_Knowledge2328
Looking after multiple kids for free is not an activity most people are interested in
Just looking after a single kid is enough work. It’s no wonder many nations set up pretty expansive parental leave rules because otherwise having a child becomes an impossible mission. Probably the best-known examples of this are in Scandinavia, for example, Denmark, where new parents are given a whopping 52 weeks of leave to split between them, so both can be involved in raising the child. But even parents need a break, as in OP’s story, so the age-old solution is to hire a babysitter. But OP’s family seems to have gotten greedy and wanted a free babysitter. Now, the cost of living is tough these days, but looking after sixteen children, all going nuts at a birthday party is not a reasonable request.
For example, in the US, the average cost for a babysitter for one child, one hour, is $22.68, which is actually quite a lot more than many entry-level jobs. This number actually goes up roughly two more dollars for each subsequent child, but in most cases, a babysitter is not contending with more than three to four kids. A party is quite different, with more children, more activities, and, generally, sugar, creating a sort of frenzy among the kids that most people would prefer to not be in charge of. OP did make this clear to her extended family, but they seemed to believe that pulling a “we are family” card entitled them to free labor.
It’s not actually bad to ask family for help, it is the original socially cohesive unit. But OP’s extended family’s reaction to her leaving is very telling. Instead of accepting a no, they verbally harassed and abused her, despite having no right to say and do what they did. It seems the responsibility of “family” only extended to OP looking after the birthday party, not being respected as an autonomous human being. Fortunately, she was not alone and other family members backed her up. Instead of trying to make a deal, the extended family threw a tantrum, behavior childish enough to warrant them perhaps having their own babysitters. But OP did the right thing by standing up for herself, a good backbone is an important skill to learn early.
Most readers sided with OP and were shocked at her family’s behavior
The post “I Already Had Plans”: Teen Girl Yelled At For Not Wanting To Babysit 16 Kids first appeared on Bored Panda.
from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/1Lz6cJw
