Sometimes, neighbors need you to step in for emergencies and watch their kids. In the case of this Redditor’s post, her neighbors were getting vaccinated—a great reason to need a babysitter!
However, as the OP explains, their 11-year-old daughter got into trouble while the OP was doing some work online and ended up ruining some of the OP’s clothing and makeup. Was the OP wrong to ask for financial recompense or should she have been more attentive to the kid?
“A few days ago, my neighbors (Early 40s M and F) approached me and asked if I would be willing to watch their daughter (11-12) – Rhea- while they went to get vaccinated. I agreed. I made it clear to my neighbors that they would have to pick up Rhea before 1:30 p.m as I had a court hearing I couldn’t miss the hearing under any circumstance (I am a lawyer). They promised they would be back in time.”
“At around 1:30 p.m they informed me that they would be late. It was too late to make any alternate arrangements so I fixed Rhea a quick lunch and told her to watch T.V. or Netflix (child-mode enabled) I finished up my hearing by around 3 and came out to see Rhea.” (The OP explains in a note that the hearing was online, and she did not leave the house.)
The OP found the girl in her bedroom, trying on the OP’s heels, lipstick, and other courtroom clothing such as a robe. Rhea had broken the lipstick and stained the clothing. The OP was angry but decided to let it go. However, she did tell Rhea’s parents about the issue when they showed up. She expected Rhea’s family to reimburse her for the ruined items.
“I expected him to apologize, but instead, he blew up at me and accused me of leaving his young daughter alone and claimed that anything could have happened to her. He even threatened to file a case against me! I was taken aback, firstly, I would not have left her ‘unsupervised’ if him and his wife would have returned on time. Secondly, I do not feel that 11 is an age where she is in danger if left alone. I told him to try his luck in court and stated that if he doesn’t agree, I would send them a demand notice for the aforementioned costs.”
“Him and his wife have gotten the resident’s association involved, and while some of them are on my side, others are saying I’m an AH for ‘using the lawyer card’ over something so tiny (the total cost of items ruined is well over 10,000 Rupees).”
What did Redditors think?
“NTA. They were late, and an 11 year old should definitely know better,” said widefeetwelcome.
“NTA OP, kiddo should have been taught better by her parents, but seeing as they were late, who knows what kind of parenting they have. You at least keep relatively calm about the fact that they where a couple of hours late…I wouldn’t be so kind, would have blown their phone to pick their kid up,” said holliance.
“At 11 I was babysitting for brief times and earned money bussing tables. I don’t understand this child behaving like a toddler, but perhaps she’s delayed or poorly parented. While it may not be great to leave such a kid alone, you set an expectation about your availability. The parents knew you were only available until 1:30. THEY are the ones who left their kid without adult supervision for 1.5 hours,” noted LadyCass79.
“NTA. First off, you made it clear to your neighbors that Rhea needed to be picked up by 1:30 because you had to work, and they were two hours late. Next, the girl is 11. Age 11 is plenty old enough to know that you don’t enter rooms without permission and you stay out of other people’s stuff if you don’t have permission to use it. “I’m bored” is not an excuse for causing property damage. So, no, you are NTA, however I doubt that the parents are actually going to pay for your things. It sounds like behavior like this is common for Rhea and they just dismiss it,” said desert_red_head.
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