Redditor Entrusts Friend's Child To Stranger To Attend Work, Faces Epic Backlash On Return

When work calls, a stranger steps In.

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• September 20, 2023

In today's hyper-connected world, online platforms bring us closer, thus blurring the lines between acquaintances and confidantes. One such story originates from Reddit, where a user (OP) recounts an experience that raises questions about trust, boundaries, and responsibilities.

OP, who had been traveling to different cities on a work stint, got acquainted with a woman, Angela, through an app. Interestingly, Angela lived a few meters from his temporary work apartment, so it wasn't difficult for them to get acquainted with each other.

Their relationship, described as "more than strangers but less than friends," was limited to sporadic meetings and daily chats.

One weekend, Angela surprisingly appeared at OP's doorstep—but not alone. She walked in with her six-year-old daughter, whom OP had never met before. Angela explained that she had an emergency at work and needed OP to help babysit her child.

This was a very uncomfortable request, which OP made known to her in clear terms. At this point, she started crying, saying that she had no support system. She pleaded with OP to take in her daughter for some hours, as he was her only option.

OP, empathizing with Angela's distress, reluctantly agreed to watch the child. The first hour was smooth until OP got a call from work. Apparently, his boss wanted him at the office immediately and even offered to send a babysitter to take over from him at the house.

After about 4 hours at work, OP returned to find only the babysitter at home. She reported that Angela returned to pick up her daughter.

Shortly after, OP woke up to several angry texts from Angela, who was livid that he could leave her daughter with a complete stranger. OP replied with a witty clapback, only to get blocked.

Now, OP has decided to bring the matter before the court of Reddit to get clarity on where he went wrong. Scroll down to find out the verdict.

The story in detail

Let’s dig into the details

OP had to leave Angela’s child with a babysitter and zoom off to work

OP returned to discover that Angela had picked up her daughter. But it wasn’t long before angry texts started coming into his phone

We gathered some comments from the Reddit community:

“NTA. Angela is the AH for leaving her child with a man she barely knows.”

“You hit the nail on the head when you asked her what kind of mother leaves her daughter with a guy she just met.”

“NTA…You were also essentially a stranger.”

“She is manipulative and should really quit her BS.“

“To show up, hoping that you'll babysit her kid you never met is really odd to say the least.“

Yes, “OP did leave the child with a babysitter, who probably had more experience watching kids than he does.“

“Sounds to me like you stepped right into the reason she is single and has no support network.“

“If you're not comfortable taking on that responsibility, you should have said no to babysitting.“

“You are still a stranger. She doesn't know you. Wildly inappropriate.”

The Reddit community unanimously declared that OP is NTA. However, Angela received backlash for being an irresponsible mother.

Commenters pointed out that OP is still a stranger to her, so leaving her child with him was her first mistake. Regardless, a few commenters have stated that OP shouldn’t have agreed to babysit if he didn’t feel comfortable.

We’d love to get your thoughts on this story. Join the conversation in the comments.

Jesse