AITA for Refusing to Babysit My Roommate’s Kid After He Paid Me With a $6 Pizza?
After one man’s act of kindness, he had to watch eight kids for free, and all he got was a cold $6 pizza. A 41-year-old man who worked the night shift agreed to watch his roommate’s daughter “for a couple hours.” However, the child’s father, a content creator, left the girl alone all day while he did his own thing. The man turned down the job again because he was tired and didn’t feel valued, and was called “selfish” for doing so.
After that, there was a fight between roommates, with one trying to set limits and the other unwilling to take responsibility. The wife was encouraging and admitted that her husband had made a mistake, but the father seemed to think that his flatmate should babysit for free because they lived together. If you live with someone else, this story makes you think about emotional labour, setting limits in shared places, and the all-too-common belief that someone else will parent your kids.
Keeping kids entertained is quite a task, especially when you have a list of errands to run
A man shared how he babysat his roommate’s child for free and also got thrown up on by their cat
It’s normal for people who live together to split things like groceries, chores, and maybe even a streaming service. But what about childcare? That’s when the story takes a big turn.
The storyteller, a 41-year-old man who worked full-time night shifts, agreed to watch his married roommates’ young daughter for a “couple of hours” after his shift to help them out. He accepted, even though he was tired, because he thought that after two hours, he’d get some much-needed rest. The roommate, who streams tabletop role-playing games online, though, didn’t run chores. Instead, he disappeared for eight hours, leaving his child with someone who had just worked all night.
Even worse, the only payment she got for a full day of babysitting was a $6 pizza from Little Caesars, which is about 75 cents an hour. Even though this situation is silly, it does bring up a bigger problem: unpaid work and privilege in co-living situations. The U.S. Department of Labour says that even informal childcare may need fair pay, based on how often, how long, and what was agreed upon. This is especially true when it significantly interrupts someone’s work or rest cycle.
The storyteller wasn’t being unfair. He wasn’t asking for money up front or even making clear rules. He was just hoping that the agreed-upon time limit would be followed, and when it wasn’t, he refused to do it again, which was only natural.
But that’s when the flatmate became truly bad.
Instead of saying sorry or giving more money, he said the narrator was selfish for turning him down the next time he asked for babysitting. Then he made a vague threat: “If you need something from me, you should think again about that choice.” This response says a lot about entitlement, especially when parents share a room with another adult. This is becoming more common as families look for cheaper housing in cities and share areas with adults who are not related to them.
Because the storyteller works the night shift, things are even worse. It’s very hard on the body to work all night. The Sleep Foundation says that shift workers are more likely to have long-term tiredness, depression, and a weaker immune system. After turning in your work for the day, you have to go to sleep. In these conditions, asking someone to watch a baby for hours is not only unfair, it’s almost careless.
The father told the narrator, “Call me when something important happens.” when she tried to call while watching because her cat was sick and throwing up. The meaning of this line is very clear. It not only plays down the stress of taking care of a sick pet, which can be a big problem, but it also makes it sound like his roommate’s time, energy, and responsibilities didn’t matter—only his own plans did.
The irony should not be missed: this was not an emergency. The dad wasn’t in a job interview or a dangerous situation. He bought miniatures and painted models for his Twitch show for most of the day. Even though hobbies are fun and good for your mental health, they are not a reason to trick someone into babysitting for free, particularly if they just got off a shift that was hard on their body and mind.
Also, it’s important to note that the wife, who works in restaurants, had nothing to do with this lie. She was working her own job and was shocked and mad when she found out what had happened. Parenting can be uneven even between couples in many homes, but in this case, the trouble involved a third party who wasn’t supposed to be a parent at all.
People often expect others to do work for them for free, especially emotional or caring work, when limits haven’t been clearly set. PsychCentral says that people who don’t understand other people’s limits often react badly when those limits are set, calling firm reactions “selfish,” “mean,” or “disrespectful.”
Now, here’s the thing: watching is work, especially when it’s done for long hours without permission and for no pay. It’s not a favour for your flatmate. It’s not a simple task. The narrator had every right to say no, especially after the first time. It’s a duty.
This isn’t just about a man who is tired and doesn’t want to watch again. It’s about getting tired, being disrespected, and what happens when you think other people will pick up your slack. If you ask someone to watch your child, whether they’re a parent, flatmate, or friend, they should be fully informed, treated with respect, and ideally paid or at least thanked for their time.
Having a child in the mix makes things even more complicated when you already have roommates. If the dad wouldn’t recognise the favour, or even worse, thought he was owed it, it shows a pattern of feeling entitled that probably goes beyond this one event.
It’s not mean for the storyteller to say no. It’s an important border. And if the flatmate doesn’t get that, it’s not the man who said no that’s wrong; it’s the man who never asked properly to begin with.
