Annie Walton Doyle
A furious mum has demanded her babysitter pay for the ’emotional damage’ of her vegetarian children after feeding them chicken nuggets…
For passionate vegetarians and vegans, even the idea of eating meat is emotionally distressing.
And, for some mums, that goes beyond just their own bodies.
Parents who avoid meat tend to instill those same values in their kids and hope that they’ll share the same moral code and dietary requirements.
But one mum, whose two vegetarian children ate chicken nuggets while under the care of a babysitter, is now citing ’emotional damage’ in a now-viral post.
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The anonymous sitter has taken to Reddit to ask if the mum is right to have such strong feelings about the issue.
The internet, however, is a little divided…
One person writes: “You just don’t dump your choices on your children. Let them try everything and let them be individuals – they are all different. Just bring them up with good behaviour and manners.”
Another person pens: “I know vegetarian parents who left it up to the kids to decide when they were old enough. Until then, they didn’t eat meat at home, but could elsewhere if the opportunity presented itself. I respect that.”
Addressing the babysitter, however, someone else writes: “In the future, if you continue working in childcare, make sure you always check about dietary restrictions when you start with a new family.”
“Get some suggestions from the parents for what it’s okay to feed the kids,” another echoes.
The babysitter explained in a now-deleted Reddit post from 2020: “The mom came home early and saw her children eating chicken nuggets.
“She literally ripped the nuggets out of their hands and started screaming that I’m horrible for allowing her children to eat dead corpses and yelling at her children for eating the meat.”
She claims the mum ‘kicked her out’ without paying.
Later, the sitter received an angry message from the mother demanding that she pay up $300 (£226) per kid for ’emotional damages’.
The babysitter was even threatened with court action!
However, the OP points out: “If I was aware I would have not fed them meat. I had babysat for vegetarians before and made sure to respect their vegetarian diet.”
But it seems as though most people were on the babysitter’s side.
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One person writes: “It was her responsibility to tell you her kids were vegetarian. She still owes you money for babysitting.
“I’d be willing to bet she has pulled this stunt before to get out of paying and maybe try to get some extra cash.
“I find it weird that neither kid mentioned they didn’t eat meat and they wanted a happy meal.”
Another adds: “The parent has the responsibility to tell you about dietary restrictions. Just like if the child had a peanut or tree nut allergy.
“Even though vegetarianism is growing worldwide nobody assumes you’re a vegetarian.
“The kids told you they wanted chicken nuggets, you didn’t just give it to them.”
Whose side are you on?
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