When an accident involves a child, it’s a common practice to decide, after the issue has unfolded, just who’s at fault.
In this fault-seeking enterprise, some people turn to the subreddit r/AmItheAsshole to act as the mediator in deciding where the blame lies.
In the case of who’s responsible for a baby’s backyard booboo : the mother, the father, the sister, the cousin, other guests, or all of the above, the honorable judge Reddit presides.
Setting The Courtroom Stage
Reddit user u/goryopj, a mother, posted her story to get a little perspective on an issue and answer her question, “Am I being an ass?” once and for all.
Oh, one more thing, there’s a little family drama added to this trail.
The Backstory
u/goryopj, who we’ll call M, has a sister, who we’ll dub S. M has a 14-year-old daughter and S has a 1 and a half-year-old son.
S has repeatedly asked M’s daughter if she could babysit. The 14-year-old has continually explained to S that she doesn’t feel comfortable taking on the responsibility of caring for a child.
What Do You Mean, No?
M goes on to explain that “My sister doesn’t get it despite multiple people (myself and my daughter included) telling her,” that M’s daughter doesn’t want the onus to be on her.
So it would seem there’s a bit of a history here. Therefore, we can determine that the incident had some preceding factors.
The Incident
At a family BBQ, with mostly adults and a few children, S “Kept trying to get [M’s] daughter to hold [the baby] or feed him, which [M’s] daughter declined.”
At one point, M went into the house to prepare drinks and snacks for the gathering. Suddenly, she heard S shrieking outside.
The Aftermath
When M came rushing out of the house, she came upon S holding her baby, whose face was bleeding and was screaming at M’s daughter to “‘put her damn phone down’ and [saying] ‘you’re in a lot of trouble.'”
M explains in her post that her “daughter look[ed] terrified.”
What Happened
Apparently, while M was inside, S had to go to the bathroom and asked M’s daughter to watch her son. According to M, her daughter said, “no, ask your husband,” with S replying, “just help out… it won’t kill you.”
After M’s daughter “flat-out told her no,” S went into the house anyway. During this time, the baby fell on concrete steps and scratched his face. Luckily, he was okay, and it was just a scrape.
The Plot Thickens
The yard was also full of adults that fateful day who were apparently, “keeping an eye on the little one, but at some point, they lost track.”
It seems like there were more parties involved in this particular incident.
The Punishment
S demanded that M take her daughter’s phone away, and asked what M would do to punish the young teenager for what happened.
M said, “nothing,” and went on to explain to S that there were half a dozen adults who said they were watching the baby, including his father!
Wait, What?
That’s right; the father was outside the whole time. Not only that, but the baby’s dad fully admitted the situation was on him and that he had screwed up.
Yet S still couldn’t take her sights off M’s daughter, still placing the blame on her shoulders.
S Still Wasn’t Convinced
M told her daughter that it wasn’t her fault, but S was furious at M and wanted both her and her daughter to apologize.
M refused because she felt that her daughter did nothing wrong. “My sister is still mad at me and my mom says I should have daughter apologize. I said no, she did nothing wrong,” M wrote.
Yet M’s own mother said, “It wouldn’t have killed [her] daughter to watch him for 2 seconds.”
Let’s Recap
Let’s go over the details a little before consulting the jury.
M’s daughter refused to help and had done so many times before. S left her child with her anyway. Other adults said they were watching the baby. The baby fell. S’s husband took responsibility for the fall. S still blames M’s daughter. M doesn’t think her daughter did anything wrong. Okay, got all of that?
The First Juror’s Response
Reddit user u/CaraInAPickle feels the blame lies with the father on this one.
Another Good Point
u/toiavalle certainly understands that these things happen, regardless of who was watching the child. Having said that, they also seem to agree that M isn’t to blame.
A Consensus Among The Jury
This point pretty much sums up a lot of the feelings in the comment section, aka, the jury.
A Final Thought
This user not only provides a verdict, but gives us all something important to think about.
The Verdict
In the case of M vs. S, the final verdict regarding M is NTA (Not the asshole).
Agreed. It’s one thing not to help, but if you really don’t feel comfortable looking after a baby while being a youngster yourself, that’s understandable. And protecting your daughter and her decision, well, that’s understandable, too!
What Do You Think?
Are you in agreement with the jury’s outcome, or are there more sides to this case?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
If you’ve experienced a similar familial blame battle in the past, let us know because court is in session!
h/t: Reddit | u/goryopj
