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It was a violation of privacy.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Nov 25, 2022
There are definitely some strict do's and don'ts that babysitters are expected to follow.
A major one is certainly not snooping through the things of the family you are babysitting for, which is what happened to one mom who was forced to fire her babysitter because of it.
The mother posted the entire debacle to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA), a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them.
In her Reddit post, the woman explained that she and her husband have three children together and have hired many babysitters to help.
Her oldest daughter, Lauren, 14, has recently been going through a rough time after her best friend passed away from Leukemia.
To deal with the loss, her parents bought her a diary to write down her feelings.
The mother explained that she and her husband were recently looking to hire a new babysitter and that he had suggested his friend's 17-year-old daughter for the job.
"I know her, so I said yes right away. She worked for us for weeks. She sometimes teased Lauren about her being uptight, never smiling, giving her the nickname 'grinch,'" she wrote.
After telling the babysitter to stop badgering Lauren, she only responded that she was trying to "get her to cheer up."
However, while the woman was at work one day, she received a distressing call from Lauren, who was crying and telling her mother that she needed to come home immediately.
When she got home, Lauren told her that "the babysitter took her journal and started reading it out loud in front of the kids while recording herself."
Suffice it to say, Lauren's mother was enraged by the babysitter's actions, though, the teenager tried to defend herself.
"She said she was just messing with Lauren and showing her that it's okay to speak emotions out loud instead of bottling up. She really thought was helping her overcome her fear to express herself."
Despite the babysitter's attempts to explain herself and apologize, the mother promptly fired her.
Her husband was upset that she fired the babysitter, and wants to 'give her another chance.'
When the woman's husband returned home, he was upset that the babysitter had been fired.
"He argued that I handled this the wrong way and that I should've been the adult in this situation instead of yelling and kicking her out," she shared of her husband's response.
Even though she tried to explain to him what the babysitter had done to their daughter, he rebutted that "kids her age make mistakes."
He argued that the babysitter apologized, and the woman should've given her another chance.
Her husband continued, complaining about how firing their babysitter is now going to ruin his friendship with his friend.
"[He] also said we're now without a babysitter and [his] trip is this week so I have no choice but to let her come back but I said no, she will never step a foot in the house again."
He continued berating his wife, calling her "unreasonable" over the decision.
"I ended up calling him delusional for expecting me to re-hire her after the stunt she pulled on Lauren and I won't let it happen because my daughter can't feel comfortable in her home," she concluded.
A majority of people who commented on the woman's Reddit post agreed that she was 'Not The A--hole' (NTA).
"If you let this teenager back into your house, it’s pretty much guaranteed that Lauren will NEVER tell you anything ever again. Your husband needs to be a father and stand up for his daughter," one user wrote.
Another user added, "you were the adult in the situation, she was bullying your daughter and I’m horrified your husband cares more about his friendship than that."
"There is no way your babysitter believed she was helping or joking with your daughter. It's called bullying and probably not the first time," a third user chimed in.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.