“[Am I The Jerk] For Not Babysitting For My Sister-In-Law Anymore After She Called The Police On Me?”

Back in the old days, many, many years ago, people came up with a wise proverb: “He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.” And the centuries that have passed since then have only confirmed the truth of these words. Very often, a person who tries to frame another later faces similar problems.

An additional confirmation of this wisdom is actually this story originally told in the AITA community on Reddit. Its author, having seriously quarreled with her sister-in-law, one day faced a clear ‘frame-up’ on her part – and the author’s response led that woman to even more serious consequences. So, let’s figure it all out together.

More info: Reddit

The author of the post had a long-term verbal agreement with her sister-in-law about each of them babysitting their kids during the week

Woman playing with children indoors amid child abandonment claims.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

This actually helped both women devote more time to their jobs

Text discussing a sister-in-law agreement and police involvement over child abandonment issues.

Text discussing child abandonment accusation after woman leaves kids at sister-in-law's house without speaking.

Text messages between woman and sister-in-law about child abandonment and police involvement after an argument.

Image credits: anonymous

Children sitting on a sofa, symbolizing themes of child abandonment and familial drama.

Image credits: Ivan Samkov / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Recently, the author dropped her kids off at her SIL’s porch after they had a big argument, expecting that she would take care of them as usual

Text detailing a woman's report of child abandonment due to a communication issue after 45 minutes.

Text describing a conflict over childcare and subsequent apology request.

Text excerpt discussing implications of child abandonment accusation in work with kids.

Image credits: anonymous

Two police officers in uniform inspecting a car, related to a child abandonment report.

Image credits: nomadsoul1 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

But that lady not only didn’t babysit them but even called the police over ‘child abandonment’

Text about child abandonment involves dropped-off kids and ensuing drama.

Text about sibling-in-law and child abandonment concerns affecting employment decisions.

Text describing family drama following a police report for alleged child abandonment.

Text "AITA?" on a white background relating to child abandonment discussion.

Image credits: anonymous

The author had to rush back and explain everything to the cops – and she decided to quit babysitting the SIL’s kids from that very day

The Original Poster (OP) and her sister-in-law are both moms, and since 2020, they have had an unspoken mutual agreement on babysitting. Three days a week, the author babysits the SIL’s kids, and three days a week, she returns the favor. Over the years, the women perfected this system to the point of automatism – sometimes simply dropping the kids off at the other one’s porch, knowing that she’d take care of them.

But recently, the system crashed. The day before, the OP had an argument with the SIL, but the next day, she brought her kids to her. The author always keeps her phone on silent while driving, so when she got to work, she was surprised to see a lot of missed calls from the SIL. In one of the texts, she even claimed that she was going to call the police over child abandonment.

The mom rushed back – after all, she works with children, and a record of child abandonment could be a major red flag for her career. When the OP arrived, the SIL told her that the police were already on their way, so our heroine had to wait for the cops and then explain to them that it was just a misunderstanding. From then onwards, the OP simply went no-contact with the sister-in-law, refusing to babysit her kids either.

Even after she called and apologized. The thing is that now that woman can’t dedicate enough time to her job and, in fact, her family is faced with the issue of serious financial losses. Moreover, the alternative for them would even be returning to their parents’ house. Which no one actually wants. So now everyone is calling the OP heartless and is trying to persuade her to make peace with the SIL, and she’s not sure that she wants this.

Woman on phone looks upset, discussing child abandonment concerns.

Image credits: user21825501 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Technically, the author’s sister-in-law did have a reason to call the police for child abandonment – after all, as FindLaw notes, “leaving an infant on a doorstep, at a trash dumpster, or in other public or private places” is one of the formal signs of child abandonment. And well, technically it was leaving them on a doorstep… In other words, our heroine could have really faced a serious problem.

Depending on where she lived, this “revenge” on the part of her SIL could’ve brought the original poster a lawsuit. For example, Lawinfo points out that in California, child abandonment or neglect is in some cases considered a misdemeanor, and convictions result in up to a year of jail time, a $2K fine, or both. In other states, the penalty can be even more severe. In other words, this was not an “overreaction” in the classic sense.

People in the comments to the original post also sincerely believe that our heroine could easily have lost her job because of the SIL’s actions, so now her reaction seems actually justified. “Let her struggle to find childcare or lose her job,” someone wrote quite reasonably. “You could have easily lost yours.”

Many responders are pretty much sure that the described case is a classic manifestation of instant karma, where the SIL simply ran into the very problem that she tried to lead the author into. “She wanted to escalate it, enjoy the outcome of the escalation,” another person added in the comments. And do you, our dear readers, also agree that the original poster did the right thing here?

Most commenters gave the author their sincere support, claiming that her SIL just ran into the same issue that she’d prepared for her

Reddit comment discussing drama over SIL and child abandonment police report.

Reddit comment discussing consequences after reporting sister-in-law for child abandonment.

Text conversation about reporting child abandonment to police, involving family drama.

Comment on child abandonment drama, discussing escalation.

Comment discussing consequences of reporting sister-in-law for child abandonment, highlighting lack of impulse control.

User comment discussing consequences and trust issues related to child abandonment report.

Text discussing child abandonment and disagreement over kids' safety, mentions risks to job and parental rights.

User comments on social media discussing a woman reporting SIL for child abandonment, advising to stay away for safety.

Text exchange about child abandonment report with police involvement discussed.

Text discussing child abandonment and family drama, describing a situation involving miscommunication and strained relationships.

Reddit comment reacting to child abandonment drama involving SIL, criticizing family dynamics.

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