I agreed to watch my brother’s kids on holiday, now his friends expect the same

“I’ve been told a few stories, and Wren is the type to just leave her kid anyways, regardless of the conversation…”

For as long as Hailey* could remember, she’s enjoyed spending holidays away with her brother, Liam* and some of his friends and their siblings. 

Throughout their childhood, they frequently spent time with each other on trips, and this tradition quickly seeped into their adulthood. 

However, now Liam and some of his friends have kids in their lives, the holiday dynamics have completely changed.  

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Hailey has been watching her brother's kids for years. Picture: iStock

“I’m not even a nanny, nor do I have the certification”

At first, Liam would offer to pay for half of the holiday, leaving his little sister Hailey to cover her share of the trip. 

However, this time was different, the 21-year-old explained on Reddit. 

“My brother offered to pay for my whole vacation … if I was willing to help with the kids for a day or two, so he and his wife, Mia*, could get some alone time,” she said. 

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Hailey was more than happy to babysit her niece and nephew, who are seven and nine years old, over the course of the holiday, and considering they are “good kids”, she’s more than happy to “help out anytime I’m in the vicinity”. 

Fast forward to the holiday, and everything is going smoothly - for the first night, anyway. 

While having dinner, one of Liam’s friends, Wren*, made an “offhand comment” towards Liam and his sister about “having a vacation nanny while she was fussing with her kid”. 

In the meantime, Hailey was discussing the next day’s plans with Liam’s wife, Mia, and agreed to watch her niece and nephew overnight so the couple “didn’t have to wake us up early to leave for their appointment”. 

Considering she was originally going to watch the kids that night anyway, Hailey was more than happy to let them stay the night. 

Later that evening, Hailey heard a loud knock on the door, only to discover Wren standing in the doorway with her child, ready to drop him off with the others. Hailey wasn’t fussed about babysitting another child for the evening, but she didn’t expect to have him sleep over in her room. 

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“I don’t mind him being here for a few hours, but he can’t spend the night,” she told the mother. In response, Wren asked why she wasn’t allowed to drop her son off if Liam and Mia could drop theirs off. 

“Well, there’s no room for him, and they’re my brother’s kids and are used to spending the night with me,” Hailey said in return. After a bit of “back and forth” with the angry mum, Hailey wound up refusing to watch the kid. “I’ve been told a few stories, and Wren is the type to just leave her kid anyways, regardless of the conversation,” she said, adding she didn’t feel like “tracking her down later” to return the child. 

Just to note, Hailey was not asked to attend the holiday as a full-time nanny; she was also on holiday, just like everyone else. “I’m not even a nanny, nor do I have the certification,” she clarified. “I just happen to be good with kids and enjoy being around my brother’s kids.”

A few days passed, and while sitting at the pool, Hailey decided to take her niece, nephew and some other kids to the ice cream parlour for an afternoon treat. When she asked the parents for permission to take them along with her, “a few of the parents said no, and some of them gave me a weird look”.

It turns out Wren complained about Hailey’s refusal to watch her son to other parents on the trip, and “a few of them took her side”. 

Then, it happened again - this time, with Liam’s friend. “Later that night at dinner, a wife of my brother’s friend asked if I could watch her kid tonight so they could go somewhere,” Hailey said. She declined the request and explained that her brother’s kids were going to spend time with their parents, so she could have a night to herself. 

“She mentioned that since I was willing to take them earlier for ice cream and since they said no, I ‘owe’ them,” Hailey said. While she and her brother reminded everyone that Hailey was, in fact, on holiday and not acting as a mobile nanny service, her mother and friends believed she should have just bitten the bullet and watched the kids when asked. 

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“They were trying to take advantage of you”

Online, the majority of people agreed that Liam’s friends were out of line for “exploiting” Hailey’s kindness and trying to palm their kids off to her. 

“Your brother invited you to go on vacation with his family,” a person wrote. “Watching other children was not part of the deal you made with your brother.” 

One comment read: “Um …. No. A bunch of grown-ass people ganging up on and trying to bully a young girl because they’re mad they didn’t think to hire a nanny for their vacation.”

“Of course they're upset, they couldn't mooch your services,” said another. “Who cares if a bunch of wannabe freeloaders are upset.” 

The other holiday-goers were labelled “freeloaders” by Redditors and supported Hailey for “standing [her] ground”. 

“They were trying to take advantage of you,” read a comment. 

“These people sound entitled as f***,” another agreed. “You were way nicer than I would have been. Don’t feel guilty for knowing your worth and not letting shitty people walk over you.”

*Names have been changed

Originally published as I agreed to watch my brother’s kids on holiday, now his friends expect the same