Father fires 16-year-old niece from babysitting after being 20-minutes late twice, her mother blames it on time blindness: 'It’s not her fault'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 11, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

There's a difference between being late for something and being late for something without even knowing it. If you're running a few minutes late, you can text the people your lateness affects and let them know your estimated arrival time: No harm, no foul. But if you experience something called "time blindness," you might be extremely late and not realize it until it's too late. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 

""Time blindness" refers to the inability to recognize when time has passed or to estimate how long something will take."

Contrary to popular belief, time blindness isn't a disorder but rather a way of describing behavior that can coincide with disorders like ADHD. There's a lot of contentious debate about whether time blindness is an ADA or accessibility issue, which somewhat ties into this story. A father hired his niece to babysit his kids, but he fired her when she was late twice in a row. 

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  • 01
    AITA for firing my time blind niece from babysitting over the phone Not the
    via Active-Nature-807
  • 02
    I have three kids, they are not old enough to be left alone at home. They are 10, 8 and 7. We had a babysitter but she is in college now and can't do it. I have a niece that is 16 and she has high functioning autism. My wife and I agreed to let her babysit when my sister asked. Easy way to have a babysitter and she gets pocket money to spend.
    via Active-Nature-807
  • 03
    She babysat last week and she was late. We were able to get to our event but it was annoying. The whole night went well and the kids had a good time. I informed her she can not be late since we have places to be. Today my wife and I had to get to a work function and we needed to be on time. She was suppose to babysit but when she was 20 minutes late I called her and told her not to come. I pulled a favor form my neighbor and we left.
    via Active-Nature-807
  • 04
    I got a call from my sister that I fired my niece and it's not her fault she has time blindness. That my niece has been very upset about being fired and personally I think it's a good life experiences. Better to figure it out now before she gets a job where you clock in. My sister called me a I and my wife is thinking I may be too harsh even if she agrees that her being late is an issue.
    via Active-Nature-807
  • 05
    SusanfromMA • 21h Partassipant [2] Maybe your sister could have assisted in getting your niece to her appointment on time. Niece can set reminders on her phone to help her. NTA. If you can't count on the person then they are of no use to you for that job. ... Reply 12.8k
    via SusanfromMA
  • 06
    ErrantTaco 19h • Our oldest is getting ready to go off to college and we've been working on time blindness for years. We aided her a LOT. I've started shifting things to her to manage now rather than pinching hitting sometimes while she had a safety net. We've been really real the last year with her though that professors and bosses and even friends won't give her the latitude that people have given her as a teenager. Niece's mom should be helping her but also not making excuses. It has to be a
    via ErrantTaco
  • 07
    just-an-it-manager • 17h . I'm a manager of an employee like this. I've tried to be supportive and help them build the tools required to detour manage, but I'm not their parent. I only have so much patience. In support of OP, I've started being more strict making it clear if this continues they won't have a job to come back to. Lo and behold their attendance improved markedly. I think some consequences may help to drive change. ✩ 1.6k
    via just-an-it-manager
  • 08
    Competitive-Dot-8824 • 19h Time blindness is an explanation, not an excuse. It means you don't have an innate sense of time, not that you physically cannot see what time it is. So look at the clock. Set an alarm. "Time blindness" is something that makes it difficult to execute daily errands, not impossible. It means you have to take extra steps to make sure you're on time for things. If she's not teaching her daughter these coping strategies, how will she ever function as an adult? Is she late f
    via Competitive-Dot-8824
  • 09
    Waffletimewarp · 18h Exactly. I have time blindness as a result of my ADHD, and I learned real quick to figure out how long a commute will be, how long I'll need to get ready, and set three alarms between five and fifteen minutes beforehand. I am excessively about my scheduling because I know how easy it is for me to forget it. 517
    via Waffletimewarp
  • 10
    Dreadifare 21h Aficionado [19] NTA time blindness is a ridiculous excuse. I'm aware it's a thing and know a small amount of people that suffer from it. They set multiple alarms to get up, get ready, prep to leave, and leave. Many people function with it every day because they know and prepare themselves for each day. Simply not wanting to do it is lazy. Reply 538
    via Dreadifare
  • 11
    jersey8894 20h NTA...my husband has time blindness. He has alarms for every single part of his day. Alarm to wake up, alarm to feed the chickens, alarm to get his stuff together to leave for work, alarm telling him it's time to leave for work, alarms at work for things he has to do a set times, alarm for lunch, you get the idea. Is it annoying to others, I'm sure it can be but he finally feels in control of his life and has confidence that he gets things done when he needs to. About the only thi
    via jersey8894
  • 12
    -K_P- 20h Partassipant [2] "Actually, sister, I didn't 'fire' her, as I was never her employer. My niece is a self-employed babysitter; I was merely a contracted client. As someone with a disability, however, she is entitled to accommodations, such as an assistant to help her with her time blindness. Being underage, and you, sister, being her guardian, you are the one responsible for providing those accommodations, which you failed to do, causing her to lose her contract. I'd say you owe her qui
    via -K_P-
  • 13
    Mrs Nobodyspecial67 • 20h NTA, I would have done the same thing. However I would ask her to watch the kids again but only ask her to watch the kids when you are not on a time crunch, or give her a time an hour earlier and call her to remind her its time to leave. if she is late after that then just don't use her again. ... Reply 26
    via MrsNobodyspecial67
  • 14
    Signal_Permit_8940 • 21h Enthusiast [8] NTA- it's unfortunate that she is unable to show up to things on time, but there are very few jobs/ employers who aren't going to have an issue with that level of tardiness. I agree with you that it's good practical experience. It's better to learn now that this is unacceptable in the workplace. Reply 24
    via Signal_Permit_8940
  • 15
    Objective_Rip9502 • 20h Time blindness is not a thing. Reply 10
    via Objective_Rip9502
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time blindness family drama aita time babysitter teenager kids mother teenagers niece reddit story babysitting dad uncle reddit thread late mom Father
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