Posting in Reddit’s “Petty Revenge” forum under the username u/lookoka, the man said he babysits his cousins at every family gathering so the other adults can drink. Tired of being the “defacto babysitter,” however, he decided to get “revenge” during his aunt’s birthday dinner.
The post has garnered over 20,000 upvotes and thousands of comments from Redditors venting frustrations about people who use family members as free childcare. You can read the full post here.
In his post, u/lookoka said his aunt hosted a birthday dinner for herself last week. Before arriving, his mother promised he wouldn’t have to babysit because the kids would be at a friend’s house. So, he special-ordered some Viking beer to drink with his uncle.
But after stepping into his aunt and uncle’s home, he realized he might not get to drink after all.
“The first step I take into their home is greeted by two earsplitting screams about how much the kids missed me and one toddler jodeling. I immediately realized I might have been lied to,” he said.
u/lookoka didn’t want to babysit, so he walked straight into the living room and cracked open a beer.
“About three minutes later, my aunt sees the can and starts screaming at me for drinking while watching the kids (I only hear distant screaming),” he said. “So I reach out my hand and say, ‘$200 for emergency babysitting, and I won’t finish this beer.’”
His aunt refused to give him the money, so he chugged the beer, and his dad watched the kids.
Expert Advice
u/lookoka told Redditors that he hates babysitting his cousins. However, Susan Newman, Ph.D., a social psychologist and author of The Book of NO: 365 Ways to Say It and Mean It—and Stop People Pleasing Forever, told Newsweek that “family members often don’t realize they’re taking advantage of their relatives.”
“They just assume that everybody in the family or the person they’re asking to [babysit] loves their kids as much as they do and wants to be with them…and that’s a falsehood,” Newman continued.
Newman advises those in u/lookoka’s position to address the issue head-on and to be honest with family members about not wanting to babysit.
“You could say something like, ‘I know I’ve [babysat] every year since the kids were really little, [but] I’d like to party myself this year. Can you find somebody else?’” Newman said. “You could also suggest that the relative with the children bring a babysitter [to the family event].”
Redditors React
u/lookoka didn’t say whether or not he’s ever spoken to his aunt about their babysitting arrangement. Regardless, Redditors applauded his act of “petty revenge.”
“This was freaking beautiful. I’ve taken to drinking mead during special occasions to get out of situations I shouldn’t have to be in,” u/berN00b719 said.
“My sister once made me babysit her three kids on my birthday, at my birthday party. I was 15, so it’s not like I could drink, but next time I’ll keep this in mind,” u/ElectricalGarbage0 wrote.
“That’s so awesome! It’s hugely unfair and manipulative and irresponsible to expect/use family like your personal servants. I’m so proud and happy you did this!!” u/Active-Persimmon1414 commented.
u/KarmaDreams added: “Here’s an idea: How about the people that POP the kids OUT, actually RAISE THEM, themselves! It’s not a sibling’s/cousin’s/younger family member’s responsibility to watch the kids YOU chose to have.”
u/lookoka declined Newsweek’s request for comment. We could not verify the details of this case.
More Viral Posts
On Tuesday, commenters applauded a woman who refused to contribute $25,000 for her stepsister’s home deposit.
Earlier this month, Redditors supported a woman who declined to babysit her son’s girlfriend’s baby.
And in October, commenters backed a teen who put a horror movie on while babysitting her dad’s girlfriend’s kids after being forced to watch them.
