Paramedics see a lot of things, but even Reddit user u/Ok_Interview_1739 wasn't ready for what he experienced a few months back—even though the guy had been in the EMS for nearly a decade.
It all started when the Redditor and his team went to help an elderly lady who had an accident at her home. As they tried to take her to a hospital, her neighbor got in the way. But not to make sure if the lady was OK or anything. The woman needed someone to look after her kids the next day and thought the senior who was having a medical emergency had to be there for this. You know, because she lives close by and her care is free.
Continue scrolling to read how the woman got a reality check in u/Ok_Interview_1739's post on the subreddit r/EntitledParents.
Paramedics have thick skin, but this entitled woman still managed to infuriate the crew
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
As she tried to stop them from taking her neighbor to a hospital because she needed a free nanny
Image credits: hkckk5 (not the actual photo)
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
While the story went viral, its author released an update on the situation
Image source: Ok_Interview_173
This post is an extreme example, but it does touch on a widespread problem
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
It's obvious we shouldn't give the woman mentioned in the post a pass for what she has done, but many American parents get a headache whenever they're thinking about childcare, which is getting more expensive than ever.
The Demanding Change report found that the national average annual cost of childcare in 2020 (the latest data available) reached $10,174.
This figure accounts for more than 10% of the median income for a married couple and more than 35% percent of the median income for a single parent.
To put the number into perspective, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that parents spend no more than 7% of their household income on childcare. The report also discovered that the average increase in the cost of childcare is outpacing inflation by more than 3%, so parents need to stretch their dollars further than ever before.
This growing gap has resulted in thousands of parents leaving the workforce. Especially mothers.
"One of the repercussions for parents that we're starting to see is the exit of women from the workforce," Child Care Aware senior data analyst Kristina Haynie told CNBC Make It. "Sometimes it's just not worth it to work because the money that you’re making is all going toward child care."
It's a problem that researchers think is fueled in part by the difficulties that child-care centers are having in attracting talent. Offering competitive wages requires raising prices, but raising prices forces some parents to pull their children out because they simply can't afford it.
For many parents, the alternative to quitting their jobs to take care of their kids is to enlist the help of family, friends, and neighbors, Haynie said.
"It's difficult to try to cobble together all these different child-care solutions just so that they can keep working for the same paycheck when everything is getting so expensive," she said. "[It's putting childcare] just that much more out of reach."
So again, while this doesn't give you the right to assault the paramedics when they're taking away your nanny-neighbor, sadly, there are probably many more parents who would at least have the thought pop into their head.
People flooded the post's comment section with their reactions
So its author issued another update for everyone interested
Image credits: halfpoint (not the actual photo)
