Finding a babysitter you can trust is one of the most difficult tasks for many parents. When you finally find the right person to leave your little ones with, you’re essentially welcoming them into the family. So, it’s a huge blow if that trust is betrayed. One mom has taken to Reddit to ask ‘AITA’ after an incident involving hard seltzer and a teenage babysitter.
It’s completely reasonable to get mad at a teenager for getting drunk while they’re supposed to be caring for your kids, but what if there’s more to the story? This particular mom is being taken to task for firing her babysitter after learning that it was all an innocent mistake. Whew. These comments are something else!
The mom explains in the post that her babysitter had been caring for an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl for two months.
“She’s a very sweet and quiet girl and is good with the kids, we’ve only had small problems here and there but nothing major at all,” the mom wrote on Reddit. “When she first started babysitting for me I had asked her if there were any drinks or snacks that she’d like me to keep at the house as she’s here from 9-7 every day Monday through Saturday.”
Hold on! 9-7, six days a week for two months? That’s a lot of time spent with those kids.
The babysitter requested seltzer water which the mom bought for the first month but later forgot.
“A few days ago I bought hard seltzers for me and my husband, and didn’t think anything of it,” she revealed. “A little bit after 2 pm she messaged me that she wasn’t feeling well and thought that she may have to go home, if it was possible if I could get off from work earlier. I asked her to try and hold out until the end of the day. Not too long after she called me crying, saying that something was wrong and she had to go home. She was drunk clearly, she drank the hard seltzers. I told her to leave and she walked home.”
So, this adult made a drunk, upset, teenage girl walk home by herself? Noted.
The babysitter called the next day to apologize and explain to her employer what had happened.
“She messaged me the next day and said that she now knew that hard seltzers were alcohol, and she hadn’t known, she never drank before as both of her parents were alcoholics and she has diagnosed PTSD regarding alcohol, she never planned on drinking in general,” the mom explained.
“I told her not to come back as she put my children in danger. She called me crying and saying that she didn’t know, and that she cared deeply about my children and would never ever drink with them, or at all, and that she needs the money to pay for her driver’s permit (she comes from a not so well off family). I told her to find a real job and that it wasn’t my fault she got drunk.”
Interesting that the AITA-asking person in question includes “she comes from a not so well off family” in her posting. Remarkable.
“So reddit, AITA?”
The mom admitted that her husband “says I’m being very rude and that she did try to reach out when she wasn’t feeling well.”
Unsurprisingly, Reddit agreed with her hubby and they did not hold back!
“You’re an ungodly [expletive],” one user wrote. “Those seltzers are newish in the alcohol world and I wouldn’t expect someone who hates alcohol to know that. How mature of her to let you know. How immature of you to do what you did.”
Reddit pointed out that the mom was indeed the A-hole, and that it was her fault in the first place.
“She’s 16 and accidentally drank what she believed to be seltzer water, which you offered to provide her with,” another user did not mince words. “When she started feeling strange (poor child), she called you right away. When she figured out what had happened (smart child), she called you to discuss it (responsible child).”
“You’ve rewarded her mature approach by firing her???” the commenter continued. “This could very reasonably, and just as easily, be considered your fault. You made the mistake of not telling her not to drink them. It’s entirely possible for a child not to recognize hard seltzer.”
Some took it even further writing that the mom put a teenager in danger.
“You made a confused drunk 16yo walk home alone. I would never allow my child to babysit for you again. Not because you forgot to buy seltzer after asking her. Not because you bought hard seltzer. And not because you assumed she’d know they were alcoholic,” wrote another reader.
“All of that is normal, reasonable [expletive] that happens,” the person explained. “This 16yo kid called you as soon as she realized there was a problem. She’s still a KID. But you, a grown adult, fully aware she was drunk and confused — knowingly put her at risk.”
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The fire in the comments section changed the mom’s mind.
The mom updated the post on Reddit with a couple of “edits.”
“Edit: okay guys, I’m the [explecitive]. I see it now. Thank you. I’ll hire her again,” she wrote.
“Edit #2: I will pay her $1500 a week from now on. And pay for her permit and test. As well as her license test.”
The thread has since been locked, but we were pleased this parent so the error of her ways. What a monster. We hope that babysitter asks for a bigger raise or has found a more decent employer.
Contents
- 1 The mom explains in the post that her babysitter had been caring for an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl for two months.
- 2 The babysitter requested seltzer water which the mom bought for the first month but later forgot.
- 3 The babysitter called the next day to apologize and explain to her employer what had happened.
- 4 “So reddit, AITA?”
- 5 Reddit pointed out that the mom was indeed the A-hole, and that it was her fault in the first place.
- 6 Some took it even further writing that the mom put a teenager in danger.
- 7 The fire in the comments section changed the mom’s mind.
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