A 19-year-old who works as a babysitter over the summers recently got a call from a single mom looking to have her watch her kids.
The mom told her she has a 4-year-old and 7-year-old and she needs someone to watch them when she’s at work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
At first, this young woman thought it was weird that the mom told her she couldn’t find someone who was willing to watch her children, since the area they live in has tons of babysitters and the mom was offering good money.
She decided to meet up with the mom and her 2 kids, which is something she always does before agreeing to take a new family on.
Her children acted polite and nice, so she wasn’t really concerned.
“We talked about schedules/routines/their regular rules and we agreed on almost everything,” she explained.
“First day of the job, I arrived at her place at 7:30 and I was puzzled when I saw a kid in a wheelchair.”
“I asked who he was and she said that this was her ‘severely disabled 11yo son. I asked if she was expecting me to look after him too.”
The mom replied yes, but had never told her about this child, let alone that he was disabled and wheelchair-bound.
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The mom then tried to tell her she was “overreacting” as she became concerned, and went through a list of things the boy required like being changed and fed.
“But I freaked out and I told her no, I’m not capable of caring for a disabled 3rd kid in the house we did not agree on that. I’m just a babysitter, not a carer which what he needs,” she said.
She quit on the spot, even though the mom was upset with her and accused her of backing out of their arrangement.
“But she initially lied and hid her 3rd son who’s disabled and needs special care and then expected me to go with the flow,” she continued.
“She said that I should at least try for a week til she’s got a willing babysitter because she can’t leave her new job and stay home with the kids. She begged me to stay even offered more money but I decided to leave.”
When she got home and told her parents about her reason for leaving, her own mom said it wasn’t right of her to quit.
Her own mom basically called her selfish for doing this to a single mom, not paying attention to the fact that there was a major lie involved here.
This teen pointed out that she was scared because taking care of a severely disabled child also is a huge legal responsibility, and she’s not wrong.
Here’s what the internet had to say.
“She put herself into a tight spot because she’s a liar. Nobody will babysit for her because she’s a liar. If she keeps contacting you, tell her that.”
“She “bait and switch’d” you. She is in a tough spot and all that, but her attempts to manipulate and bully you into caring for her disabled son despite your assertion you couldn’t, does make her one.”
“Your mom is empathetic, but to the wrong person, if she cares so much, she should babysit for the lady.”
“Honestly it might not be a bad idea…to get CPS involved too. She’s continuously trying to hire underqualified caregivers for her child and failing to disclose his medical issues.”
“She’s creating a major liability issue and putting her son in danger as a result.”
“You said yourself, you’re not a carer. What if something bad had happened? The kid’s mom should’ve warned you beforehand, she changed the deal at the last minute.”
“You’re under no obligation to continue with the deal when they’ve changed the terms last minute.”
“You should be trained to lift a patient for hygiene care. Lifting a disabled 11-year-old is an easy way to injure yourself or the patient.”
“Not only neglected but if his disability is only physical, can you imagine the pain he must be going through from being constantly rejected? It’s not his fault, it’s 100% his mother’s but my goodness, it’s still got to hurt.”
You can read the rest of what the internet had to say here.