In the best of circumstances, finding child care can be sort of a hassle. But getting a last-minute sitter is sometimes darn near impossible. That’s why one person on Mumsnet was thrilled when they learned that their sister-in-law would sit on a moment’s notice — but was less thrilled when learning the SIL would only do it if the Original Poster paid her. “I feel quite angry about this and I probably shouldn't,” the OP admitted in the post.
The OP has never asked their SIL to sit for them before, and after this, they probably won’t ask again.
As OP explained in the post, their normal sitter pulled out at the last minute “and we are going out for my birthday tonight, tickets are bought and paid for.”
“I was panicking trying to find someone else on the sitter site and [Darling Partner] called sister-in-law who will be at home cause her partner is out,” OP continued. “She said she would need payment!”
Now the OP is seriously ticked but turned to the internet for a little perspective.
Some people agreed — this was stingy.
"Unless she's a teenager and has a little baby-sitting 'business' she's ridiculous," one commenter explained.
"Oh wow that'd annoy me too," another commenter admitted. "I have babysat many times for family and would never have charged! Do they have kids? I'd rather pay an actual babysitter than a family member."
"My guess is that she has fears of being taken advantage of because she's family, and in a way I don't blame her. Some people can really take the p— when it comes to expecting free childcare," a third commenter pointed out.
Other people thought the OP’s SIL shouldn't have to work for free.
"Maybe she needs the money, to be fair I assume you were going to pay the sitter who cancelled and she is doing you a favor," one person commented. "Saying this I would never charge for babysitting my nibblings."
"As a childcare professional I often have people trying taking the p— when it comes to childcare. So now everybody gets charged," a second commenter added.
"I’m not sure to be honest," another person admitted. "You were going to be paying the babysitter so I don’t see why it’s a problem to pay the SIL for doing exactly the same job."
Later in the thread, the OP explained that they were really hurt because they do "loads" for their SIL, so it's sort of understandable to see why they're upset that the favors weren't returned in kind. Ultimately, the OP found another sitter on a child care website "so all good anyway!"
"Just feel a bit weirded out tbh," she wrote.
