Anyone who works with kids understands the enormous responsibility placed in their hands. They’re caring for someone’s entire world, and it’s the kind of pressure that makes you want to do better and be better for those innocent children.
But, well, teachers are meant to teach, not raise children. A child’s education at home should come from their parents, but we all know entitled "Karen" moms exist everywhere, and today’s story is no exception. A woman who wasn’t even a teacher had to deal with a mom who simply didn’t want to take care of her kid that day, and the situation escalated far more than it ever should have.
Read more: Reddit
Any kind of child care requires rules and regulations, even if it's a free service being provided
Image credits: tonodiaz / Magnific (not the actual photo)
A woman was running a free class to teach children dealing with their parents' divorces, but in order to participate, they would have to be enrolled in the class
Image credits: kolesnikovsergii / Magnific (not the actual photo)
One day, a woman walks in with her son, demanding that they care for him for a few hours while she took care of her business
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The woman running the class immediately told her that it wouldn't be possible as the kid wasn't enrolled in the class, and she didn't have enough supplies or even food for him
Image credits: kues1 / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Insisting that he didn't need snacks or anything special, the entitled mom then pushed the kid into the room, and bolted out into the hallway to leave him behind
Image credits: Akaear
The woman caught up to her and demanded that she take her son with her, threatening to call authorities — which seemed to do the trick as the woman immediately left, albeit unhappy
The Original Poster (OP) is a woman who recalls meeting an entitled mom in her late teens. At the time, she was leading a free after-school program at a community center that helped children whose parents were going through a divorce, while also explaining the legal process and the associated bureaucracy.
Although the class was free, the community center and the OP covered most of the material costs themselves, including snacks and coloring supplies. Everything was carefully budgeted for the eight children enrolled in the program, and any child who wanted to attend had to be officially registered. So, you can imagine her surprise when a child she had never seen before walked through the door.
Apparently, after hearing the class was free, a mother decided it was the perfect opportunity to get some free childcare. While OP wouldn't have minded looking after the boy, she didn't have the extra materials, food, or paperwork needed to keep him there safely, which she immediately explained to the mom. To her surprise, the woman simply pushed her son into the room and practically ran down the hallway.
The OP repeatedly told the mother she couldn't take responsibility for her child. When the mom continued to refuse, the woman had to threaten to call the authorities, sending the mom into a frenzy. She started ranting about the "terrible customer service" and how bad a teacher the woman was. In the end, she did take her son with her — but not before threatening to report the OP to her boss, who didn't even exist.
Image credits: tonodiaz / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Psychological entitlement is at the very root of this woman's actions, experts say. It's a classic personality trait in which someone believes they deserve special treatment and exemptions from the normal rules. In this case, the woman saw that the class was "free" and held at a community center, so she assumed it was a public service to which she had an automatic right to use however she pleased.
If this kind of behavior becomes a pattern — prioritizing her own convenience over her child's — it can have serious consequences for the kid as well. Psychologists would likely describe this as a form of emotional neglect, which can leave children feeling like their thoughts, emotions, and even their presence don't matter. Over time, that can contribute to low self-esteem and self-doubt.
Sadly, there wasn't much OP could have done to change the mother's behavior. Experts say it's extremely difficult to reason with highly entitled individuals, especially when they're unwilling to see another perspective from the start. In this case, OP did exactly what she needed to do: she set a firm boundary by refusing to take responsibility for the child and by not making exceptions to the program's rules.
Netizens were overwhelmingly supportive of OP's actions, praising how calmly she handled such an overbearing parent. Some also argued that she still should have contacted the authorities because of the mother's apparent neglect. What do you think? Was refusing to take the child enough, or should OP have gone ahead and called the police or Child Protective Services?
Netizens praised the woman's assertiveness, but not without commenting on the mother's entitled attitude and neglectful parenting
