Since being the go-to babysitter for her boyfriend’s 8-year-old niece, a woman on Reddit shared that she’s developed a strong bond with the young girl. However, her recent actions threaten to derail their relationship entirely.
In her since-deleted postthe anonymous woman explained that while at a festival with the child, she received a phone call from her dad about a family emergency. Overwhelmed by the news, she quickly drove the young girl home and drove away even quicker — not waiting to see if she made it into the house safely, much to the dismay of the young girl’s mother and droves of commenters.
The woman was scolded for dropping off her boyfriend’s 8-year-old niece and not waiting for her to get inside safely before leaving.
Being a babysitter is a huge responsibility, especially for young children who look to you for support and safety. Concerned with her family’s emergency, the woman couldn’t think straight and made a decision that put the young girl’s safety in jeopardy.
“I saw her mom’s car parked in the driveway, so I figured that she’d be OK,” she honestly admitted, explaining why she didn’t think to wait. “I went to see my dad and didn’t look at my phone for a while.”
When she finally glanced down at her phone hours later, it was filled with missed calls and messages from her boyfriend and his sister-in-law.
“I called his sister-in-law first and she goes off on me,” the woman recounted, “asking why I left before making sure her daughter got into the house.”
The woman responded by telling the mom that because her car was in the driveway, she assumed everything would be OK. But, clearly, everything was not.
As it turned out, the young girl’s mother was not home.
The 8-year-old girl was locked out of the house and forced to sit on the porch alone for over 20 minutes until her mom got home.
Maya Kruchankova | Shutterstock
“I asked if there was no spare key or anything,” the babysitter wrote. “(The mom) said no, and that it shouldn’t even matter if there was. She’s 8 and shouldn’t be home alone.”
Although legalities vary state by state, most experts agree that children should not be left home alone until the age of 12, so the mom’s anger is certainly understandable. Anything could have happened to the young girl as she waited outside.
The mom questioned why the babysitter didn’t give her a call, as she would have instructed her to bring her daughter to her location instead of the house. Even still, it seems the woman didn’t understand the severity of the situation.
Many commenters argued that, emergency or not, this babysitter was clearly in the wrong.
The woman should never have driven away before making sure the young girl made it safely inside and, at the very least, should have called the mom to let her know her daughter would be home early. Her mind may have been frantic over her family emergency, but the girl’s safety is paramount.
“You were responsible for a child. A family emergency doesn’t mean you stop being responsible,” one user wrote.
“You had time to call but chose not to, you had time to wait to see if the door was answered but you chose not to,” another commenter added. “These are a series of choices that you chose to make that put a child in danger.”
Frankly, it’s common — an expectation, even — for women to do the same thing for their adult friends after dropping them off at their homes. Not only is it unfortunately unsafe and anxiety-inducing to be a woman alone outside, but it’s even more dangerous for a young girl — without a phone, parent, or means of protecting herself.
“When I called my boyfriend, he said that I was majorly in the wrong,” the babysitter added. “I used to babysit his niece often … but now the sister-in-law is saying I can never babysit again as I traumatized her daughter.”
Most people agree that they would not allow the woman to babysit again, but hopefully, she can take accountability and still be a presence in the young girl’s life, even if she doesn’t watch her alone for a long while.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories
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