Mom Tries To Pay Babysitter With "Fun And Ice Cream" Instead Of Cash

Ah, babysitting. It's something which the vast majority of us associate with teenagers who are a little too young to enter the workforce, but still old enough to need some extra cash of their own. And for us parents, it's pretty much a win-win situation, as most kids love hanging out with someone who's not quite a fully fledged adult!

For a little more than the price of the meal you'll likely be enjoying with your other half, you can enjoy your evening, content in the knowledge that your kid is not only being looked after but having fun too. But speaking of fun, one mom has recently gone viral by attempting to pay her sitter not with cash, but "fun and ice cream". Seriously.

Credit: Safe Sitter

The brazen mom was exposed on Reddit by user @VortexThing, who shared a series of text messages which had been sent between their sister and the deluded mother, captioned, "Sister sent me this...she was blocked immediately after."

The conversation begins with the girl asking if a time is convenient for her to collect payment for the work she's done, and instead of agreeing or arranging a suitable alternative, the mom wrote that she "wasn't aware" payment was involved.

Credit: Reddit / @VortexThing

At this point, it's clear that the girl in question has been royally screwed over, and when the mom proceeds to ask for proof of their arrangement, she quickly provides her with a screenshot proving that she's agreed to pay the sitter $16 an hour.

Credit: Reddit / @VortexThing

But, incredibly, instead of apologizing profusely for this "misunderstanding", the mom attempts to justify her actions by saying that she regularly deletes her messages and was therefore perfectly right to assume the sitter would work for free.

While most people would rightfully get angry in a situation like this, the girl remains calm and explains to the mom that she needs her money. Instead of agreeing, the mom calls her "stuck up" and offers her $108 dollars less than what she's owed.

When the sitter insists that she needs the full amount, the mom says it's not fair because her children are "easy" to look after...

Credit: Reddit / @VortexThing

In a bid to pacify the nightmare mom, the poor sitter tried to reach a compromise which would have essentially meant she'd worked for two hours for free and said that she'd accept $100, adding that she needs the money for school books.

It's at this point that the mom oversteps yet another line and calls the girl who kept her children safe and happy for eight hours the C-word. She then proceeds to block the girl for having the audacity to ask for money she is owed.

Credit: Reddit / @VortexThing

Needless to say, Reddit users had a lot to say about the unbelievable exchange, with the majority of them agreeing that the best course of action that the girl could take would be taking the mom to a small claims court - not only to get what she is due but to prevent the mom pulling the same stunt with another unsuspecting babysitter.

Reddit user @Mechanical_India, however, suggested talking to the woman's partner before taking legal action.

"Sounds like the first thing is talking to the husband and seeing if he is any more reasonable. 

If not, she can take them to [the] small claims court with the text messages [sic] she has a nearly 100% chance of winning. She'll get the original amount plus court fees. 

Until then and even after, she can drag their name through the mud. Tell the neighbors, tell her own friends and coworkers, post the screenshots on her own and the couple's social media, send some emails to any local daycare or babysitting agencies."

Credit: Novins, York & Jacobus

After countless Redditors spoke out in defense of @VortexThing's sister, with many remarking that it was a case for Judge Judy, they provided an update, revealing that their sister was going to ask the woman's husband for the money, but she was reluctant to take legal action because it could mean a lot of work to get back a relatively small amount of money.

"I asked her about this. She's hesitant because she thinks it's a lot of legal work for $128. She's just going to talk to the husband, who hopefully is a tad more reasonable. 

Anything you'd advise? She's livid and going off in our family group chat right now. 

Edit: just to clarify, this is not me texting. This is a SCREENSHOT that my sister sent to me regarding her (blue) and the woman (grey) whose kids she's babysitting. I would like to apologize for [the] poor wording on the title."

Credit: Decider

A day later after the post went viral, @VortexThing provided another update on Reddit, explaining that their sister had conceded that going to a small claims court was the right course of action. It was then revealed that the woman's husband was no more reasonable than her, but after they were threatened with legal action, they finally relented and paid the sitter.

"Hey everyone!

"Two days ago, I posted this about my sister who had recently babysat two children, and after discussing payment with the mom prior, she was shocked to find that the mother had no intention of paying her. The post went viral on Reddit and I hit the front page instantly with almost 70K upvotes. 

"Many users recommended a small claims court, which would help in legal dealings such as this one. After speaking with my sister about her options, we decided that this was what we would do as a last-case resort. Yesterday, we decided to call the husband on his personal phone. It took a few tries to get through to him, but he eventually picked up and was quite sheepish about the whole thing. Basically, the conversation said something to the effect of 'Yeah, I'll talk to her about it.'"

Credit: Hergott Law

"Lo and behold, there was no response. We texted him several times, and he left us on read almost immediately after we sent the message. Since we knew he was ignoring [us], that's when we decided to send him the following text:

"Mr. [Name], we are aware you are reading our messages. We have consistently tried to reason and work with you, and it is honestly quite laughable that you are refusing to pay. After consultation with friends, we have decided we will be using a Small Claims Court if you do not return us the $128 in cash that you rightfully owe. You will have to go through legal proceedings and it will certainly cost you more than what you owe us. So, as soon as you and your wife stop acting like children and face the people you owe money to in person, we may be able to have a reasonable discussion."

Credit: Scary Mommy

"Guess what happened? Within thirty minutes, my sister was 'unblocked' from the mother's phone and the cash is set to return today at 2 pm. We'll see how it goes, but my guess is that the parents are done scheming people. 

"I really thought we were going to have to get in a legal process here. It was surprising how scared she was as soon as my sister even brought up court. I guess people realize that actions have consequences!"

All's well that end's well, I guess? Hopefully, this story will deter any other brazen parents from trying to pull a similar stunt.