Navigating the boundaries between friendship and work relationships can be tricky, especially when expectations clash. Recently, I found myself in a situation at a casual gathering with friends and coworkers that has left me wondering if I might be in the wrong.
A group of us got together for a BBQ, and one of my friends, who is also a coworker, brought her kids along. The plan was for all of us to relax, catch up, and enjoy the evening, but at some point, she started asking (and then expecting) me to watch her kids so she could mingle and unwind. I’m not a parent, nor was I prepared to take on the role of babysitter for the evening. I politely declined, explaining that I wanted to enjoy the gathering as well, but she seemed frustrated by my refusal.
The situation got a bit awkward, and I could tell she was annoyed with me for not helping out. Some of our mutual friends mentioned that it wouldn’t have hurt for me to help out for a little while, but I felt like it was unfair to expect me to take on that responsibility when I wasn’t asked beforehand and didn’t sign up for it.
Now I’m left wondering—AITA for refusing to watch my friend’s kids at a social event, or was I right to set a boundary in this situation? Should I have been more accommodating, or is it unreasonable to expect someone to babysit during a gathering where everyone should be relaxing and having a good time?
1. OP was at a backyard cookout with some of his friends and coworkers and people have also brought their kids to the cookout moreover, OP said the kids were playing in the yard. OP says he doesn’t understand that a lot of parents walk away at outings and expect other people to watch over their kids.
2. OP said it was the end of the night and it was getting dark and cold and children were still playing and running around so OP decided to go home and went inside and said goodbye to the host
3. OP was on his phone for a minute and someone angrily approached him and asked him why he left the backyard as they were relying on him to watch over the kids moreover, OP said nothing dangerous happened to the kids, and neither he was asked to watch over the kids.
4. Now OP is confused with the mentality of their parents and he wants to know whether he was an A-hole or not
5. OP updated the viewers about the backyard briefing it was not fenced off
6. Here’s an edit to the post
7. Definitely NTA!
8. OP is not responsible for watching the kids and neither he was asked
9. Not ridiculous it’s pretty ridiculous and their reaction was absurd
10. LOL a quite legit response to people like that
11. OP is one hundred percent NTA
12. OP should consider giving them this response next time if he falls into a situation like this
13. On point!
14. I agree with this totally, what are your thoughts about this?
15. The fact he was not even asked to look over those children makes this situation elevated
16. Not OP’s problem
17. Next time am sure if OP is looking over kids he’s going to make a lot of money
18. The audacity of those parents is insane
