In a post to Reddit’s AmITheA****** (AITA) sub on November 9, user u/RepresentativeRow608 explained that her babysitting shift was supposed to finish at midnight, but come 2:20 a.m., the couple still wasn’t home and were ignoring her text messages.

Fed up with waiting, RepresentativeRow608 then told them that their burglar alarm had gone off, scaring them into coming home in an Uber.

Despite not sticking to their word, the couple tried to shame the 15-year-old Redditor for lying to them, with the mom confronting the teen at the school gates and calling her a “liar.”

Reddit users were disgusted by the couple’s behavior, with the post receiving over 17,000 upvotes and more than 1,600 comments.

‘They are doing you a favor’

Stephanie O’Dea—mommy blogger and certified life coach—said it’s important to treat people looking after your children with respect, whatever their age.

“[Babysitters] are caring for your most precious asset,” she told Newsweek.

“Set expectations and boundaries clearly, state your fee, and honor the hours they have agreed to sit for you.”

Life may not always go to plan, but if you find yourself in a situation where you’ll be home late, the least you can do is inform your sitter and pay them for the extra time.

“Text or call immediately and then pay overtime,” said O’Dea.

“If a grandparent or other relative is sitting and you are not paying them, they also deserve this courtesy—they are doing you a tremendous favor and can not be made to feel as if you are taking them for granted in any way.”

‘They were trying to take advantage of you’

In her post, RepresentativeRow608 said she has begun babysitting to make a little extra money. The parents of her younger sister’s classmate asked if she’d watch her kids while they went to a wedding, and the poster said yes.

The couple told RepresentativeRow608 they’d be home by midnight, so the teen arranged for her dad to pick her up at that time.

“So my dad was there to pick me up at 11:50,” she wrote.

“The kids were all asleep and I was watching tv. I had texted them at 11:00 to double that they would be in time. The mom texted me back ‘yes.’”

However, midnight came and the couple still hadn’t arrived. At 12:30am, the teen texted the couple, but they didn’t reply. At 1:00am, she tried to call them, but got no answer.

“My dad went and got a coffee at home and came back. He is all calm. Not good. He is ready to blow,” she said.

“I texted every 15 minutes. No response.”

At 2:20am, the teen had a brainwave. She messaged the couple to say someone had attempted to break into their garage, but that the burglar alarm had frightened them off.

“They were home drunk in an Uber in 15 minutes,” she continued.

“My dad made them pay me for my extra time before we left. He told me that I’m not allowed to babysit for them again unless I charged them for an overnight stay.”

The teen thought that was the end of it, until the following Wednesday, when she went to pick her siblings up from school.

“She gave me s*** for scaring her and her husband,” RepresentativeRow608 said.

“That they had checked their security cameras and no one tried to break in. I said sorry the alarm went off so I called you.

“She called me a liar. Which is fair. But I don’t feel bad about what I did. They lied to me first.

“My mom says I should have just sucked it up but my dad says that they broke our deal.”

After reading RepresentativeRow608’s story, Reddit users voted the teen “NTA” or “Not the A******.”

“You are a child too, and staying out till 2:30 am when they were supposed to be home HOURS earlier was abusive towards you,” said Myay-4111.

MeganSloth agreed, writing: “They were also obviously ignoring your text messages because they came rushing home once you told them their house alarm went off.

“They were trying to take advantage of you because you’re young.”

Hoginlly commented: “Even forgetting that they’re leaving a 15 year old minding their kids for extra several hours in the middle of the night, it’s ridiculously rude to the father who is standing by to pick her up.”

Meat_Bingo said: “They’re lucky that you didn’t call the police for child abandonment.”

Other users praised RepresentativeRow608’s father, but slammed her mom for not supporting her daughter.

“Learn from your father, not your mother,” said ChibiGuineaPig. “She’s too much into people pleasing.”

Gumgums66 wrote: “At least your dad was angry at the right people, and he got you the overtime pay. Your mum is an AH for telling you to suck it up.”

While DilbertedOttawa commented: “I will say from your description of events that I am glad your dad was handling the situation with you.

“No disrespect to your mom, but she strikes me more as the ‘don’t rock the boat’ type, and that’s not really a healthy attitude to have.”

RepresentativeRow608 isn’t the only one to share their babysitting-related dilemma with the internet. A mom was recently slammed by Reddit users after complaining about their childminder using their shower, while a mom who expected her adult son to care for her kids on a family vacation was accused of “parentification.”

Newsweek has reached out to u/RepresentativeRow608 for comment.