Lots of parents count on babysitters for those times they can't be around or when they need a little break.
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It's a time-honored tradition in the world of parenting. Though snagging a trustworthy sitter isn't always a walk in the park, it usually doesn't turn into a big ordeal.
But even when you find a sitter you totally trust, you still have to fill them in on your family's specific rules and preferences because, well, every family is its own unique universe.
One sitter learned this the hard way after a misunderstanding with two kids she was looking after sparked major drama with their mom.
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The sitter, or OP as they're known on Reddit, decided to seek some advice from the internet by posting to Reddit's AITA (Am I The A**hole) forum.
In her now-deleted post, OP shared a bit of background.
"I 19f put up an ad for babysitting and have babysat lots of different families' children and have been babysitting for 2 years," she explained.
She went on to describe her latest gig, saying:
"This new family asked me to babysit their 2 children," and shared that she agreed to look after a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
"They were really well behaved kids."
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Babysitting kids who are polite and listen well is always a bonus, but situations can still get tricky.
To reward their good behavior, OP decided to treat them to something special, a tactic many parents and sitters use to make the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone.
"When I asked what they wanted to eat they asked for chicken nugget happy meals. Since they were so well behaved I decided to buy them the happy meals they wanted," OP wrote.
The kids were thrilled with their meal, but their mom was anything but happy when she found out.
Turns out, there was a significant detail that had been left out:
"The problem with that is they are vegetarian which their mom had not told me, if I was aware I would have not fed them meat."
OP added, "I had babysat for vegetarians before and made sure to respect their vegetarian diet and didn't even eat meat while babysitting for the families."
The situation escalated when the mom returned home early to find her kids eating the chicken nuggets.
"The mom came home early and seen her children eating chicken nuggets. She literally ripped the nuggets out of their hands," OP recounted.
According to OP, the mom then "started screaming that I'm horrible for allowing her children to eat dead corpses and yelling at her children for eating the meat."
It's worth noting that the kids are 9 and 7, and arguably, they should know their dietary restrictions.
They had requested the meal as a treat from their sitter.
The fault seems to lie with the mom for not informing the sitter of this major dietary preference.
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Despite this, the mom directed her anger at OP.
"She kicked me out without paying me and then later text me saying that I need to pay her 300$ for each kid for the emotional damage I have caused them," OP explained.
The mom even threatened to "take me to court" over the supposed "emotional damage" if OP didn't pay up $600.
Fortunately, OP wasn't too worried about the threat.
"My dad and older brother are both lawyers so the threat didn't really scare me because I know I can have help dealing with it if she does try to take things to court," she mentioned.
OP refused to pay and laid the blame squarely on the mom.
"I refused to pay the money and told her that she should've told me that she was vegetarian and I would've made sure to completely respect her family diet choice and since she didn't tell me it's not my fault," OP wrote.
"She said that I shouldn't just assume everyone eats meat."
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OP then turned to Reddit, asking for opinions on whether she was in the wrong.
"The parent has the responsibility to tell you about dietary restrictions," one commenter wrote.
"Just like if the child had a peanut or tree nut allergy. Even though vegetarianism is growing worldwide nobody assumes you're a vegetarian. The kids told you they wanted chicken nuggets, you didn't just give it to them. The mom is the a--hole. You should tell her that if she doesn't pay you for baby sitting you will take her to court for not paying for services rendered."
"NTA it was her responsibility to tell you her kids were vegetarian," another person agreed. "She still owes you money for babysitting. I'd be willing to bet she has pulled this stunt before to get out of paying and maybe try to get some extra cash. I find it weird that neither kid mentioned they didn't eat meat and they wanted a happy meal."
A third person agreed. "NTA — if anything the mom sounds like TA for not paying you for your time. She failed to notify you about dietary restrictions, that's on her, not you."