His Neighbor Kept Sending Her Kids To Hangout In His Garden In Hopes Of Getting Some Free Childcare, So He Threatened To Call CPS On Her
This twenty-three-year-old man lives within just one mile of four different elementary schools. So, he is used to seeing a ton of children around his neighborhood.
Plus, he is currently finishing his Ph.D. in plant systematics and has a great garden on his front lawn– which he is often outside working in. And, at some point in the afternoon, a bunch of neighboring kids usually end up joining him on his lawn, too.
“For the most part, it does not bother me. They are all great kids, and they have tons of questions about plants, gardening, composting, all of that good stuff,” he explained.
Plus, since his background is in plants, he honestly loves teaching the kids about them and seeing their little faces light up.
Recently, though, he ran into an issue with a parent that has never happened before.
Basically, he was out gardening one afternoon when, as per usual, a bunch of kids came by. He chatted with them but then finished up gardening a bit earlier than normal. So, afterward, he just went inside.
However, about an hour later, someone began violently banging on his front door. And when he opened it, he was greeted by his furious neighbor.
The neighbor apparently screamed at him for “leaving her kids alone to be kidnapped for an hour,” and he was super confused.
But, after hearing her out, he learned that she would always let her kids outside every day and tell them to go hang out with him while she got stuff done.
Ekaterina Pokrovsky – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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So, eventually, he just apologized and said goodbye. After thinking about the bizarre interaction more and more, though, he really does not believe he was in the wrong.
“First off, I did not know I was ‘watching’ children. What if someone got hurt? I don’t know what the hell to do,” he began.
“Second, I feel like this is neglect. This woman doesn’t know me anywhere near well enough to be leaving her kids with me outside while she leaves. Lastly, childcare is expensive for a reason. I’ve been watching kids for free?!”
All of this ultimately prompted him to march over to his neighbor’s house, knock on her door, and tell her that he was not a babysitter.
Moreover, he said that her children were no longer allowed near his house or him.
He also said that the entire situation made him extremely uncomfortable with the safety of the children and claimed that if she ever left her children outside without someone watching them again, he would call CPS.
His neighbor did not take his comments very well, though. Instead, she began screaming at him about how she could not afford childcare and called him a complete jerk for not pitching in when she needed help.
This was another big red flag for him, though.
So, after that conversation, he proceeded to let all of the neighborhood parents know what had happened with his first neighbor and about the new rule that no children are allowed in his garden anymore.
And even though most of the parents completely understood his concerns, he still had to tell some children to leave after they came over to his house.
One boy was even very clearly holding back tears.
So now, he is not sure if his rule makes him a total jerk and if there is a better way to handle this situation.
How would you have reacted to the angry neighbor? Do you think his new rule is a good way to solve the situation? If not, what would you do?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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