Mom books Disneyland vacation with her 4 and 6-year-old kids but forgets to ask for time off work, demands coworker give up their PTO for her: ‘My kids would be so disappointed’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
May 20, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Imagine you have not taken a day off of work for over a year, so you finally decide it's time to plan a well-deserved vacation for the upcoming summer. You settle on a location, find a great flight, book a nice hotel, and set it all up in your calendar. For the next however-many weeks you have until this vacation, the idea of finally getting some rest will be the only thing that keeps you going. Nothing can come between you and your days off.

Except when shortly before your trip, you discover that you forgot to let your workplace know about that time off, and now it is too late. What do you do? Do you break your own heart and reschedule the trip according to your workplace, or do you turn to your coworkers in a plea, asking someone to trade their vacation so you could go on yours?

As much as it may be disappointing to reschedule your vacation, no one should expect others to do that for them, no matter who they are. That is what the mom in the story below should realize, instead of demanding that her coworkers give up their vacation because she was not responsible enough with hers.

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  • 01
    "Your kids are none of my business"
    via Brian McGowan
  • 02

    AITA for telling my co-worker her kids are none of my business?

    School holidays are coming up and I have a co-worker panicking, as she left it too late to book vacation slots. My company had a rule where no more than 3
    via DoodlerArt
  • 03
    workers can leave at the same time for vacation. I already filled in my vacation slot months ago as I haven't taken any in nearly a year.
    via DoodlerArt
  • 04
    I'm single and unmarried and in my 30s. Company HR told my co-worker that her only way to get her vacation is to get one of us who already had our vacation
    via DoodlerArt
  • 05
    time approved to 'trade with her'. And considering out of the three of us whose vacations were approved, I am the only female, guess
    via DoodlerArt
  • 06
    who my co-worker approached for the trade? She tried explaining (gently at first) that her kids (6 and 4 years of age apparently)
    via DoodlerArt
  • 07
    were really looking forward to going to Disneyland and that everything is already booked, and if I can give up my vacation spot to her. I told her no, as I too already
    via DoodlerArt
  • 08
    had my vacation booked (it's a solo vacation but I'm not about to tell her that). She got real pushy and kept on trying to insist I give her my vacation spot, saying
    via DoodlerArt
  • 09
    that "My kids would be so disappointed". I blew up at her after the fourth or fifth time, telling her that her "kids being disappointed" is none of my business.
    via DoodlerArt
  • 10
    I didn't exactly keep my voice down so at least half the office heard, and my co- worker turned red and left. One of my co-workers (25M) who sat to my side who had
    via DoodlerArt
  • 11
    heard the entire conversation later told me that while he get where I'm coming from, I could be a lot gentler, and "I didn't get how hard mothers get it". AITA?
    via DoodlerArt
  • 12
    DAY OFF
    via pixelshot

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 13
    Altruistic-Fail6534 NTA, I am also child free by choice and arrange my vacations very early to make sure they are approved. Her inability to manage her life is not your problem to fix. Also,
    via Altruistic-Fail6534
  • 14
    who makes reservations for a vacation before they have the time off approved. Coworker s ks, enjoy your vacay- ps. Solo travel is just as valid as family travel and supports local economies in ways that
    via Altruistic-Fail6534
  • 15
    family business does not. As someone whose work depends on travel and hospitality, this is a huge thing, actually.
    via Altruistic-Fail6534
  • 16
    Are you comfortable sharing any exciting plans for YOUR vacay? Don't let the haters get you down
    via Altruistic-Fail6534
  • 17
    hospicedoc I guess the other 2 coworkers also told her 'no', and she took that as their final answer. She needs to give you the same respect. NTA.
    via hospicedoc
  • 18
    library_wench NTA Your coworkers obviously "don't get" what it's like to be the childfree woman and thus be expected to alter your plans and twist yourself into a
    via library_wench
  • 19
    pretzel to please kids you've never met and adults who can't plan ahead. I wonder why your 25M coworker didn't volunteer to give her HIS vacation spot...
    via library_wench
  • 20
    ToldU2UrFace Nta. But you need to get ahead of this. Go to HR. Moms have it hard, single females have it hard, fathers have it hard. Life is hard. No is
    via ToldU2UrFace
  • 21
    a complete senetece. These are common sense things. But using it to guilt and shame you to give up a spot is a b..lly tactic. They are mad that it didnt work.
    via ToldU2UrFace

Tags

aita kids mother work coworkers reddit story parenting PTO workplace family Reddit mom women disneyland parents children paid time off vacation
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