'Some people think having a child means they should get whatever they want’: Entitled parent tries to guilt-trip their coworker into giving up pre-claimed days off so they can take a last-minute holiday with their kids

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 24, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Having a kid doesn't entitle you to special treatment in the workplace; however, when this disorganized mom thought she could guilt-trip her coworker into getting her way, she was totally wrong. After the mom waited until the last minute to request PTO for a popular holiday weekend, she saw that the childless colleague in the office had those days already booked. Instead of taking the L and planning to take her kids to Disneyland on another weekend, she doubled down and tried to force her coworker into submission, claiming her kids' schedule entitled her to an exception. 

Standing up for childfree adults everywhere, this colleague refused, putting the entitled mom in her place and enjoying their pre-booked holiday in peace. 

The holiday season is full of overlapping PTO days. Managers struggle to fill their schedules every week as workers fluff the numbers on their timesheets, but it's a known understanding in the workplace that all employees fall under the same umbrella of rules. In a first-come, first-served PTO booking environment, lacking the foresight to claim your vacation days during the busy season means you'll be the one scheduled that week. 

Sorry about it, sis. You snooze, you lose, regardless of your family size.

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  • Coworkers gets upset they’re not prioritised for having children

    Coworker asking a colleague for help.
    via SrdjanPav

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My biggest pet peeve that I've had across multiple jobs is colleagues who think having children is an excuse for them to get better shifts (when I did shift work) or for getting certain holidays when others had the same dates booked for months.
    via bigpussystance
  • I was chewed out at my old job by a coworker who got mad I didn't cancel my week off i had booked 9 months prior cos she decided 2 weeks before I was due to go off
    via bigpussystance
  • she wanted to take her kid to Disneyland. (Why you would book that so late I don't understand). She actually took me into the break room and screamed in my face cos I said no to her multiple
    via bigpussystance
  • times and I blocked her on FB cos she lost her shit. Our manager had to intervene it was so bad and when I told her it's not my problem she has a child or can't
    via bigpussystance
  • plan time off accordingly and she just went off in a huff. It was so stupid because it was always a first come, first serve annual leave policy. This was a shitty retail job so I was glad to leave.
    via bigpussystance
  • Now I work a normal 9-5 M-F job I've come across the same with one particular colleague. She is one of two who have school aged children. The other colleague is completely organised and works
    via bigpussystance
  • out her A/L months beforehand by working with her husbands work schedule and the school holidays and books the holidays she wants in advance which is typically Easter, summer and October. I have a close family
    via bigpussystance
  • member who tends to come home the week of his birthday which is one of the weeks in Easter and I book that week off. Again, this is a first come first
    via bigpussystance
  • serve policy and generally two of us can be off the same week but not three the whole week. The unorganised colleague has tried and failed to guilt me to change
    via bigpussystance
  • my holiday jsut cos she wanted the full 2 weeks off at Easter next year and has been met with a resounding no and doesn't like it. I think she's moaned in the past about people booking certain
    via bigpussystance
  • dates she had her eye on but again they booked it in advance and she waited till the last minute to decide. The way she acts, it's as if she's owed certain times of the year off because she has a child.
    via bigpussystance
  • Also having people think they can come in whenever they want cos they have a kid when the start time is when they're long in school or just generally using their kid to dictate what work they can and
    via bigpussystance
  • can't do whilst expecting people without children to pick up the slack. Thankfully this has tended to be shot down or not entertained. I just don't get why some people think having a child means they should get whatever they want.
    via bigpussystance
  • ETA: our job also has flexible working, like flexi time and WFH so there are accommodations there if someone wants to WFH due to childcare or if you start early a couple of times you can take that
    via bigpussystance
  • time back and finish early but this is also abused constantly. You can WFH but you have to be reasonable with it the same with flexi time and people use it willy nilly or think they can just cos they have kid.
    via bigpussystance
  • When I say abuse WFH I mean thinking they should WFH 4 or even 5 days a week when most of us only do one or at most two which is completely unfair as this job isn't designed to be fully remote. We
    via bigpussystance
  • have to be physically in the office at least 3 days and then moaning they have to come in cos they can't work from home whenever they want cos god forbid it's the same rule for them as it is for the likes of me. I
    via bigpussystance
  • would love to WFH permanently but you have to deal with it. Some jobs have to be done in an office! The A/L policy is als first come first serve which as it should be so it's fair.
    via bigpussystance
  • I tend to book holidays out with school timetables but sometimes stuff happens and there's no helping it and it's not my problem if you didn't think to book that time off first.
    via bigpussystance
  • Also as it's based on hours it roughly works out to 6 weeks off a year with an option to buy an extra week so it's not like there's limited holiday. There's plenty opportunities and time to book off or plan stuff with kids.
    via bigpussystance
  • Edit 2: I should explain, No they don't WFH 4-5 days a week, they think they should be able to cos they are parents and are told no cos it's unfair to everyone else.
    via bigpussystance
  • They get the same accommodations I do and think they deserve more which thankfully doesn't exist. They don't get to do what they want. The managers are pretty good.
    via bigpussystance
  • Ulquiorra1312 . The only thing worse is a boss who facilitates them
    via Ulquiorra1312
  • Craig_Kane Totally agree having kids doesn't give anyone the right to mess with other people's plans. If everyone follows the same rules, it's fair for everyone.
    via Craig_Kane

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entitled parents work drama work coworkers time off PTO vacation
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