Family Expects Free Childcare At The Last Minute, Then Criticizes Her For Setting A Boundary
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Helping relatives with childcare can be generous, but last-minute favors still cost time, gas, and energy.
Most people would hesitate before driving nearly an hour round trip to watch two babies for free…Would you ask for modest compensation, or agree because family is expected to help?
That question leaves one frequent babysitter defending a $40 request after relatives insist even half that amount would have been too much.
See why this family favor suddenly came with a price tag.
AITA for asking for compensation when babysitting?
I was asked to watch my 2 nephews—18 months and 4 months—last minute today. It was super last minute, but I had agreed and asked to be paid $40.
I assumed it would’ve been for at least 2 hours, plus a 25-minute commute each way.
I wanted the $40 strictly for gas to get there and back, plus just as some light compensation for my time.
But her family quickly denied the request, and others seem to think she was being greedy.
They quickly said no and just left it at that.
When telling the story to my family member, they said I was asking for too much money, and at most should’ve asked for $20.
They have experienced some changes in their finances, but she still thought her request was reasonable enough.
For context, the person who asked me to watch the kids got demoted recently and is making $50–$60 an hour instead of $70, so they’ve been tight on money.
But I’ve literally never asked for money from them before, and I’ve watched their kids multiple times for free.
AITA?
She didn’t expect this amount of backlash for $40.
What did Reddit have to say?
Childcare is a valuable service, and people should be willing to pay accordingly.
This commenter also has a dissenting view on what qualifies as “tight on money”.
Especially considering it was a last-minute request, $40 was more than fair.
$40 is actually a steal.
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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a teenager who wants to work, but his mom thinks working past 8pm is too late for high school.
From a practical standpoint, this story shows that repeatedly providing free childcare does not make someone unreasonable for eventually asking to be compensated.
Criticizing the babysitter’s fair compensation request clearly ignored the value of their time.
The parents may be earning less than before, although making $50 to $60 an hour still makes a $40 babysitting fee difficult to describe as outrageous.
Apparently the family discount was expected to remain at exactly 100 percent.
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