Redditor Asks Whether She Should Have Childproofed Her House - Though She Doesn't Have a Child
Elizabeth Morey
Would you childproof your house if you didn't have a child? Probably not. But one mom came unglued on her childless sister-in-law for not being more prepared before she brought her friends and their gaggle of children over.
Who's right and who's wrong in this Reddit battle? Read on to find out what Reddit thought.
The original poster (OP) started out her post by saying, "I will admit, this all seems weird to me."
She went on to explain that she and her SO do not have any children, so, while she does nanny for a group of children and volunteer for a non-profit that gives out certain items to children in need, she does not have a childproofed house and is not at liberty to give away items that belong to the non-profit she volunteers for. For a long time, it didn't matter that her house was dog-proofed but not childproofed. Until...
"I had my brother, SIL, and niece over at my house. SIL invited some of her friends - which was just...lovely," OP reported. "Her friends brought their tiny children. All 4 tiny tots were under two years old. All parents were warned that I have a very sweet pup and that the house is safe for dogs, but they need to watch their kids."
OP's sister-in-law is allergic to nuts and legumes, so OP made sure to put away the peanut butter and sanitize surfaces it may have touched before her arrival. But what else was she expected to do to prepare for these semi-unwelcome visitors? What would you have done?
OP reports that immediate chaos ensued as soon as the visitors arrived. The mothers all wanted to know why she didn't have a gate for the stairs (why would she have one if she doesn't have kids and her dog doesn't need a gate?) and why she didn't have covers on the doorknobs and locks on the cabinet doors.
Eventually, OP's SO took the dog and left in order to make the situation more comfortable for the children and their mothers. But it didn't really help.
"One of the moms announces that her daughter needs lunch and looks at me expectantly. I look around, as I was not planning on feeding this many people, then decided, f-ck it - pancakes it is. Kids love them, parents can’t complain about a free meal."
OP told the group she would prepare some pancakes for them, since it's what she had available on short notice, but one of the moms replied that "pancakes are a breakfast food, her kid needs protein, and her toddler needs chicken nuggets."
OP doesn't ever keep chicken nuggets in the house, because her dog is highly allergic to them, and her SO is not good about not sharing food with the dog. She explained this to the mom, who apparently couldn't believe anyone would be caught dead without chicken nuggets in the freezer.
OP then went into the kitchen with her brother to begin preparing pancakes. The same mom followed them into the room and began rummaging through the cupboards as if looking for something more suitable to feed her children. In the process, she found the peanut butter and freaked out that OP was trying to "kill" her SIL.
OP tried to explain, but the mom wouldn't let her. "She tore into me about how a dog shouldn’t be prioritized over a mother, that a dog is an animal and my SIL is a MOTHER who could DIE," OP reports.
"I guess the fact that my dog lives here and SIL doesn’t is a moot point. But that is when I decided that the pancakes were unnecessary and everyone needed to leave."
OP's SIL is still mad at her for "prioritizing my dog and refusing to feed hungry kids" and for making the SIL look bad in front of her friends. According to OP's brother, who is sadly stuck in the middle of all this, the SIL and her friends were expecting OP to offer free childcare for their children and free stuff from her non-profit stash of goodies.
OP thinks she's in the right, but she has come to Reddit to ask, "I guess I just want to know if I was the a-hole for keeping the house chicken free, knowing that at least one toddler would be visiting that day."
For Redditors, it was abundantly clear that OP was NTA (not the a-hole).
"NTA. SIL should absolutely be banned from your home. Tell your brother that you are owed a massive apology by her and that they are not welcome again until you receive it," says [deleted].
"I'm the parent of an under-two - on top of the entitlement, I'm just confused how she needed OP to cook for her kid," says nachtkaese. "I don't leave the house with fewer than 2000 calories of pouches, cheerios, string cheese, apples and kidney beans on my person."
"NTA, tell 'em to hit the bricks!" opined Grammasweets. "You don't have to baby proof a house that houses no babies. Hard to believe people would behave this way.
What do you think about this situation?
