While parents constantly struggle between discipline and having fun with their kids, that is usually not an issue for the aunts and uncles. As an aunt myself, I would choose to be the Fun Aunt almost all of the time, and leave the discipline and education to my nieces' parents; they don't need it from me.
However, there are some occasions when you have to show these kids who is the boss, and ensure they don't cross lines that should never be crossed. So, for example, if I am babysitting my lovely nieces, as much as they would love it if I let them eat candy for dinner, and that would definitely make me the fun aunt, I know I can't do that. I want them to be healthy and happy, so I will act like the responsible adult they deserve.
That being said, if I were roped into babysitting as the aunt in the story below was, I might not have been as responsible as I could be, just like her. When her sister invited the family for dinner, that was all that was supposed to happen that night. Then, the sister and her husband asked the aunt to stay for an extra hour to watch the kids while they could run some errands. The aunt agreed, but made it clear that she can't stay longer than an hour.
An hour passes, and the parents are nowhere to be found; they don't even answer their phones. It becomes clear to the aunt that she will have to stay there for longer than an hour, but as far as she was concerned, she had no responsibility to do more than the bare minimum as the babysitter. All she cared about was that the kids stay alive. She didn't make dinner, didn't enforce bedtime, and didn't blink an eye when her young nephew started drawing on the walls of the living room. She was just there to watch the kids.
When the parents finally returned at 1 AM, they were surprised to see all their kids still awake, watching TV, playing games, and drawing on the walls. As soon as they arrived, the sister left without a word, and since then, the family has been split up.
Was the aunt's action justified, or did she take it too far?
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
