There is no filling like the gut-dropping sensation a parent feels in public when they realize their child has suddenly gone missing.
Far too often, we hear horror stories about parents who “looked away for just a second,” only to find their child gone within a blink of an eye.
Most of the time, it turns out the child wandered off or got distracted and is later found by an upset, embarrassed, and very grateful parent.
And in today’s day and age, it’s easier for parents to be distracted as we all carry smartphones capable of distracting us at any given moment as we check our email, make calls, or just scan the headlines.
One mom had left her children outside of a shop while she went shopping, and when she walked out, they were nowhere in sight.
It turns out the 6 and 8-year-old children’s uncle was walking by and happened to notice his nephews outside the store unattended. So he decided it was high time to teach his irresponsible sister a lesson she would never forget!
The man posted the story to Reddit’s “Am I the A**hole” subreddit to get other people’s opinions on the situation.
“I took a random trip to the store today. I thought I was tripping because I thought I saw my 6 and 8yo nephews outside the store with their dog. I don’t live with them. I went over to them and it was them. And they were talking with some random dude sitting with them and petting their dog.”
He asked his nephews what was going on.
“I asked them what were they doing and the dude looked at me. He asked me if I was their dad and I said “close enough – I am their uncle. Are you their dad?” He walked away.
The boys explained that someone had to stay outside and watch the pup because of the dog.
“My nephews told me their mom was inside shopping and they couldn’t go in because of the dog they just adopted.
The man was not too pleased with his sister’s decision-making and decided to teach her a little lesson.
“I told them that was not cool, but it was okay because I was going to take them to get ice cream.”
His sister returns from shopping.
“The ice cream store is across the way from the store so I could see her freak the fuck out when the boys weren’t there. She was in the store for 30 minutes. I called her and she was hysterical that someone took her kids. “
He finally revealed what he’d done.
“I said I had them and we were at Baskin Robbins. She got pissed and asked me why I had them.
I asked her why the f*ck is she leaving outside the store. She said it was safe. I said tell that to the weirdo I caught talking to them and getting a little too close.
What if I had not been there? What if something happened inside? I told her she put them in a bad situation.”
Of course, his sister did not exactly see things his way afterward.
“She told me she would never forgive me for what I did,” he recalled. “I told her she should be thanking me.”
When it came to reactions, many people agreed that leaving her kids outside unattended for so long was a terrible idea.
“Definitely [Not the A–hole],” one commenter wrote. “She’s way in the wrong here. What does she think she’s doing leaving a SIX AND EIGHT YEAR OLD alone in the public?? You shouldn’t even leave somebody of that age alone in your own HOUSE. If the dog can’t go in the store, then she needs to go bring the dog back to the house, NOT the car which seems like something she would do, and then go back to the store and go ahead as planned.”
“She needed a wakeup call,” someone else agreed. “You don’t leave kids that young sitting outside a shop unattended. What if that old man had been a bad person? What if you hadn’t come along? Let her have her fit. She may or may not forgive you but I GUARANTEE that she would have NEVER forgiven herself if something had happened to her kids.”
“Your sister neglected them. He seemed like he was trying to take them away. It was good that you were there,’ a third person wrote.
However, there were some who were very critical of the OP’s actions.
“One person acknowledged that his sister shouldn’t have left her kids alone, but “you, however, know exactly what you did.”
“You decided to take them for ice cream and didn’t notify your sister UNTIL you saw her freak out, you WANTED her to freak out and you wanted to see it,” the person continued. “So you’re an a–hole too.”
“Your sister made a mistake but she is an adult. Treat her as one and discuss it with her rather than try and teach her some sort of lesson like you are her parents or something,” another commenter added.
A third person agreed — the punishment did not fit the crime.
“True she shouldn’t have left them but you also could have just spoken to her about it, especially if this was the first time she’s been known to do this,” the person explained. “Now if she was a repeat offender and had been spoken to before, I can see this being okay to get through her head how easy I would be. But for a first offense you could have used just words.”
Do you think this uncle taught his sister an important lesson, or did he just cross the line?
Thanks for reading. Please be so kind as to pass this story along to your friends and family?
Sources:
- “Uncle Snatches Sister’s Kids & Lets Her Think They’re Kidnapped To ‘Teach Her a Lesson’” Cafe Mom. Genny Glassman. November 23, 2020.