Single Dad's Daughter Breaks Their Babysitter's Glasses But He Refuses To Pay For Their Replacement
He says it would be unfair considering it was an accident and it's her fault for not keeping them secured.
Some babysitting problems start small, then turn into a full-blown family argument. That is exactly what happened when a single dad came home to find out his daughter had broken the sitter's glasses.
The 35-year-old father works night shifts, so he relies on help from his sister during the day and a babysitter at night. Things had been going smoothly until the sitter said his 9-year-old broke her glasses, and the dad decided it was an accident, not something intentional.
But the babysitter and both daughters told different versions of the same story, and now the dad is refusing to pay for the replacement. Read on.
The single dad apologized to the babysitter but said it would be unfair if he had to pay for her broken glasses considering it was just an accident.
Plus, he shouldn't pay her for a replacement because the babysitter didn't pay attention to her own glasses. The babysitter argued back and cried, swearing that OP's daughter intentionally broke her glasses.
His own daughters started fighting with each other, and OP had to tell the babysitter to leave. She recounted the story to OP's co-worker, who is telling OP to replace the sitter's glasses since she can't afford them being a broke college student.
OP apologized to his colleague but again refused to pay for the glasses. The co-worker got upset and told OP he treated the sitter poorly, considering she's the victim in the situation.
Since then, the babysitter is still asking OP to replace her glasses, but he feels she is victimizing him. OP thinks she is using his desperate need for a babysitter to extort more money from him; is he the a**hole?
EricThrow3976
EricThrow3976
EricThrow3976
EricThrow3976
EricThrow3976
EricThrow3976
Your child broke it, you replace it.
Beautiful-Concern144
Intention does not factor in this case.
GoodGirlsGrace
Plus, OP chose to listen to his 9-year-old child instead of the older one just because he thinks she's doing it out of spite.
GoodGirlsGrace
What kind of reasoning is this?
GoodGirlsGrace
Not good lessons to teach your young daughters.
GoodGirlsGrace
If anything, it makes her more suspicious.
Eelpan2
It also echoes two sisters fighting after one ruined the family dinner and got accused of refusing to pay.
OP wants to justify his stinginess and lack of responsibility.
Advanced-Extent-420
He thinks the young babysitter wouldn't fight back.
yet_another_sock
We hope so, too.
yet_another_sock
It's obviously the sitter's fault! /s
Negative_Rent
This was my initial thought after reading OP's excuse.
Bunglesjungle
If you didn't mean it, then it's not your fault! Everybody knows this.
curiousbelgian
Now, the babysitter can't foresee more of OP's children's tantrums due to her broken glasses.
CatteHerder
There's no other way around it; OP is victim-blaming, and towards the end, he somehow manages to make himself the victim.
CatteHerder
The 9-year-old is trying to wriggle her way out of trouble, and it's working.
puppyfarts99
You would think that his desperation would make OP see the right course of action here, but it doesn't.
puppyfarts99
Perfect analogy.
[deleted]
That introduction was deliberate to make readers sympathize more with OP, but it totally backfired.
Razzberrie22
Your true intentions are showing, OP.
EricThrow3976, thewolfaria
Will OP finally see the light after basically being told by everyone that he's most definitely at fault here?
GlitterSparkleDevine
In conclusion, after getting her glasses replaced and paid for by OP, the babysitter should never work for OP's family again.
MonteBurns
That is when the comments started piling on.
Let's summarize that, shall we? OP's daughter broke the babysitter's glasses accidentally (or so she says), and OP listens to all sides of the story and believes it wasn't intentional on his daughter's part.
After that, he tells the babysitter she's being unfair for expecting him to pay for her glasses. Moreover, it's her own fault for not keeping an eye on her glasses better to ensure they were secure.
Towards the end, he now thinks the babysitter is using his desperation for a sitter to get a few extra dollars out of his pocket. OP believes he is the actual victim in the situation, but really, he's just the a**hole.
Now he's wondering if he really is the problem.
Want another “pay up or don’t” family blowup, read about an AITA dad refusing to cover a sibling’s ignored bills.
