Is It Bad That I Confronted My Wife for Letting Our Teen Babysitter Go?

On a typical day, something wild happened at our house, and I had to step in the middle of a huge fight. It all started with Daisy, our teenage babysitter.

I usually don’t come home early, but that day I did, and walked right into a storm. My wife was yelling at Daisy, who was crying her eyes out. The kids were upset too, and I could hear them crying from the other room. It was total chaos.

Daisy has been our babysitter for a long time, looking after our daughter and two sons. She started helping when our oldest was just a baby, usually helping their grandmother and getting a bit of pocket money from us. Over the years, she’s become really important to our family, especially to the older kids who adore her.

That day, she was supposed to watch the kids from 3:30 to 6:00 pm because their daycare was closed. I got home at 5:30 and found the mess. My wife was furious, accusing Daisy of wasting our money and even threatened to call the police on her! She told Daisy to leave and never come back. Daisy ran out, still crying, and I had to cool down before I could check on my kids.

In the middle of all this, I found out that Daisy had called 911. Here’s the thing: our youngest has a condition where he holds his breath when he’s upset, which can make him faint. Usually, we just need to give him a moment, and he’s fine. But Daisy didn’t know this because we never told her.

So when it happened on her watch, she panicked and did the only thing she could think of to keep him safe—she called for an ambulance. My wife thought that was overreacting, which started the whole fight. I disagreed. I thought Daisy did the right thing by calling 911 since she was just trying to protect our son.

“I think Daisy did the right thing, but my wife doesn’t,” I wrote on Reddit, looking for some advice. The responses were overwhelmingly supportive of Daisy.

“Your wife is truly, truly awful and I hope you’re having her read these responses,” one person wrote. Another added, “Is she often like this? The level of cruelty and verbal abuse towards a 16-year-old who only acted in your child’s best interests is terrifying. I’d be worried for your children too.”

Everyone seemed to agree that Daisy shouldn’t have been treated that way, especially since she was just trying to do her job without all the information. “How could Daisy know what to do if nobody told her? She’s completely innocent,” one commenter pointed out. Another said, “Better safe than sorry. Without information, Daisy did the only right thing she could do. She called 911.”

The fight led to my wife staying with her mom for a while to think things over, showing just how big this rift had gotten.

I shared our story on Reddit not just for advice but to see different viewpoints. It opened up a bigger conversation about the importance of clear communication and supporting each other in tough times. It also made me realize just how crucial it is to trust and back each other up, especially when it comes to handling emergencies with the kids. It was a tough lesson in trust, responsibility, and managing family crises.