A Woman Told Her In-Laws She’s Not ‘Free Child Care’ After Getting High To Avoid Babysitting Their Kids
That's one way to do it.
Reddit, SedulurGrafis, stockfour / Getty Images via Canva A woman was so fed up with playing the role of a babysitter that she found a loophole that managed to work out in her favor.
“I live in British Columbia and my family often hosts at our home because we live on a lake,” the woman began in the r/AmITheA–hole subreddit, a forum where online users seek out judgment and advice on interpersonal conflicts in their lives.
“However I seem to always get roped into watching the kids. Which means I don't get to enjoy my life when we have guests," she continued.
Photo: Arsenii Palivoda / Shutterstock
Each time her family would host these gatherings, the user explained, “My husband will drink beer with his brother and dad and my MIL and SIL will go on winery visits and I end up at the house responsible for my nieces and nephews.”
The woman decided she had enough of playing the family babysitter and took matters into her own hands.
"So last weekend, I made sure I was high as f—k when they showed up,” she wrote.
Unable to watch over the kids, the user wrote that her husband and brother-in-law were the next in line to take over babysitting duty. Although the plan worked out in her favor, she wasn’t exactly off the hook.
The user faced harsh criticism from her mother-in-law who supposedly trusted her 'to make better choices.'
In turn, the woman told her in-laws that her free time was not an invitation for them to use her as “free child care” for their convenience.
Despite that the user has already addressed these concerns on multiple occasions, her husband still thinks she should have been the bigger person in the situation by talking to his family instead of getting high.
People on Reddit assure the woman that she was not in the wrong and that her husband should have done better to support her.
“Your hubby is the biggest ah,” one person assessed. “He still got to drink and socialize while you were the one being held hostage to the expectation of forced babysitting duties. He didn't even remain sober to help you watch his nieces and nephews.”
Photo: Just Life / Shutterstock
“I agree with you," another user chimed. "It is a crappy thing for her husband to do. If he was forced to watch the kids as well, maybe he would feel differently about having his free time squandered.”
One person concluded that the woman was definitely not in the wrong, stating, “The [sister-in-law] who thinks OP who isn’t a parent to these kids will ‘make better choices’ than their actual parent is pretty high up there in AH stakes.” The user even commended the woman for her creativity in the situation.
While the woman’s solution offered her momentary relief, one user pointed out that, ultimately, the situation "didn't change their inlaws' (or their husband's) lack of respect for them, which is really the root of this issue.”
Xiomara Demarchi is a writer and frequent contributor to YourTango based in New York covering human interest topics for YourTango’s news and entertainment team.