There are some things you should just never do as a parent, and most of them are common sense. For example, it seems pretty silly to have to tell someone not to let their kids play with fire or leave them unmonitored by a busy street. It seems even more obvious that, as a parent, you should absolutely never leave young kids alone in crowded public spaces — or any public space regardless of how many people are around, really. Morbid as it is, awful, unimaginable things can take place in a matter of seconds when you aren’t constantly vigilant, but this Reddit dad is blissfully ignorant of that fact of life.
Moseying over to the platform’s “Am I The A**hole” forum to express his perceived woes, the dad in question explains that he recently took his 4-year-old daughter to a Fourth of July fair. He writes that they got in line for a bungee activity, and while they waited in the long queue, his child started playing with another similarly-aged kid who was with her mom and dad. Everything sounds fine and normal so far, right? Buckle up, baby, because we’re about to take a hard left.
Reddit dad remarks that he saw a beer stand nearby, and somehow, in his mind, he felt it was appropriate to ask the parents of the little girl his daughter was playing with to watch his child so he could fetch a pint. This is not a joke — this man really wrote, “I saw a beer stand near me and ask if they can watch my daughter in line so we don’t lose our place.” Because, you know, beer is more important than the safety of your CHILD.
But oh, the red flags raise higher. “The dad tells me ‘you don’t want to leave your kid with me’ and stuff along the lines of you should take your kid with you,” the original poster (OP) writes. He adds, “In my mind why couldn’t they just help me out, do people not have common courtesy anymore?” So not only is he totally cool with leaving his 4-year-old with two strangers at a crowded event, but he’s annoyed because they won’t do him a solid so he can bro out at the beer stand.
Can’t possibly get worse, right? Nay nay, dear reader. Reddit dad writes, “Well the beer stand wasn’t far so I tell my 4-year-old to wait here and if anyone tries anything to run to me.” That’s his plan. His small child should simply be able to detect danger and run to him in a chaotic crowd. We’ve never face-palmed so hard.
Dad of the Year continues, “We are both in seeing distance of each other. I watch her the whole time while getting beer and she is watching me. I get back in line with my kid and muttered something about no morals or courtesy.” This guy wants to talk about no morals??? The situation would be laughable if it weren’t so genuinely stupid for him to put his child in danger for an overpriced cup of beer.
After all that, OP shares that they eventually got out of the line for the bungee activity because it was too long. But looking back on it, he wants to know if he was The A**hole (TA) “for asking another family to watch my kid while I could see my kid too?”
Reddit read the clueless dad to filth, with one person writing, “‘Let me ask strangers to watch my kids while I go and get some beer and then b*tch about common courtesy when they chose not to keep an eye on a stranger’s child.’ Waiting with your kid should have taken precedent over beer.”
They continued, “You then leave your 4-year-old in line by herself to buy beer. Who cares if you could see her while you were getting your beer fix? Do you really think if someone approached her or tried to kidnap her, she would be able to run over to you? It only takes a second. You know who has no morals and is entitled? You! And definitely not the family who were waiting in line. Don’t blame others because you chose to be irresponsible. Do better for your child,” they concluded their wholly accurate lecture.
Another user validly pointed out, “Instead of asking them to watch your kid you could’ve asked them to save your spot in the queue and bring your kid with you. And be f*cking nice about it it is a favour, not ‘common courtesy’ owed to you.”
One Redditor hit the nail square on the head with their assessment: “YTA. Not for asking the initial time, but going through with leaving your 4-year-old in line while you get beer after the other family said no. Double AH for muttering insults when you returned.”
Others branded him a “neglectful parent,” and another user asserted that taking care of a stranger’s child, no matter how short the time period, is actually a massive ask. “They have no idea if you were actually gonna come back, or if the kid was a runner, or had some sort of mental and/or physical health problem, etc. I would turn that down too. Heeeeell no. 😨”
Unsurprising to no one except OP himself, Reddit wholeheartedly slapped him with TA label. We can only hope this is an eye-opening experience for him, because the idea of this sort of situation being a regular occurrence while he has custody of his child is nothing short of horrific.
Before you go, check out these unbelievable stories about Reddit’s worst dads.
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