Babysitting fees can be expensive, so for many parents looking for someone to take care of their children while they're out of the house, having family members willing to do it for free is an absolute lifesaver.
But one woman on Reddit has insisted she will never look after her niece and nephew again after her brother took advantage of her kind gesture and tried to make her take care of his children for longer than they had agreed.
Sharing her story anonymously, the woman explained her brother had been out of town for a few days while taking his wife to an appointment and had asked his sister to look after his son, five, and daughter, seven.
The woman, 23, had agreed but had told her brother she was only available on Monday and Tuesday, and would not be able to look after them on Wednesday because of work commitments - so they needed to be back home on Tuesday night.
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And although this arrangement was set in stone, her brother called her at 8 pm on Tuesday to say he and his wife hadn't even left to start the drive home yet, and asked the woman if she could extend her babysitting duties to Wednesday.
She wrote: "I have a nephew and niece. My brother called last week and asked me to take them for two days as he and my sister-in-law had a doctor’s appointment out of state.
"I agreed, but warned them that I can only watch the kids Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I had a bunch of important meetings and I will be glued to my laptop for hours, unable to check on the kids. He said he ‘got it’.
"Well, Tuesday at around 8 pm my brother called and asked me to keep them another day because they got delayed and have not even started driving back.
"I got p***ed off because if I was told earlier, maybe I might have been able to postpone most meetings or even call in sick. However, no one was at work at 8 pm and I find it unprofessional to cancel the same day without a really good reason.
"I told him to come and get his kids and he became very defensive and rude, calling me unsupportive. To be clear, they went for a tummy tuck for my sister-in-law, no real medical emergency.
"He called our mum but she had already gone to bed and he had the audacity to tell me to drive almost two hours to her house, wake her up, and make her take the kids. I said no, we fought more with my sister-in-law giving her two cents in the background as well before they hung up, and stopped picking up till the next day."
With no other options available, the woman called to hire a babysitter last minute - who charged $200 (£150) for the service.
The woman then forwarded the bill to her brother, but he was less than impressed and refused to pay.
She added: "I found a nice babysitter the next day thankfully, but because it was last minute, I paid $200 for a few hours. Still mad, I just forwarded the bill to my brother, expecting him to pay.
"My sister-in-law called and screamed her a** off calling me irresponsible, and said how dare I leave her kids with a stranger. I was in the middle of work still and hung up on her and just forwarded the bill to her as well.
"An hour later my mum showed up at my house and took the kids. Now my brother is still refusing to pay and my mum said I was petty. She said things come up and it was wrong of me not to consult them before hiring a babysitter for so much money."
Commenters on the post were largely on the woman's side, with many of them telling her they're not her kids, so therefore "not her responsibility".
One person said: "Your brother needs to take responsibility for his family, not just dump them on you. Perhaps they will think more carefully about abusing your kindness in future."
While another added: "Not your kids, not your responsibility. Your brother and sister-in-law knew what your schedule for watching their kids was. It sucks if something came up and they needed their children watched for an extra amount of time - but again, that's their issue, not yours."
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