Single mom CC's the entire family in an email to pressure her cousin to babysit her 2 kids while she's vacationing, cousin refuses: 'I'm not doing it'

A cousin was staying behind from a family vacation to watch their niece and nephew, and another mom saw that as an invitation to dump her kids onto her babysitting schedule, because what's another two kids, am I right?

Babysitting two kids is very different than babysitting four kids. Although you're already a slave to the kids' schedules, once you're outnumbered by the little gremlins, the task is no longer manageable, especially if you're not accustomed to juggling childcare responsibilities with your job, your errands, and your sleep schedule. Although the woman in this next story was relieved to stay behind and watch her niece and nephews during an overwhelming family wedding abroad, she didn't expect her 2-kid weekend of babysitting to double overnight. However, once a single mom, her cousin caught wind that she was babysitting someone else's kids, she saw that as an open invitation to leave her kids behind as well.

Just because the wedding was child-free doesn't mean that every parent on the guest list gets to leave their kid at the cousin's house like it's a free family daycare. Naturally, the cousin adamantly refused, not wanting to be a part of a 4-child babysitting ring, but that single mom really wanted a break from her kids.

Unjustly, the single mom retaliated when her cousin said no, deciding to lay on the peer pressure by sending out a tone-deaf email out, CC'ing the entire family and thanking the cousin for accepting her offer. Once more, the cousin refused, but this was one refusal that rocked every root of the entire family tree.

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Woman feeling overwhelmed and indecisive.
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Young woman babysitting and feeling overwhelmed by rambunctious children.
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Four children is WAY TOO MANY children for one adult to be supervising. Even if you have a bus large enough to tote around all of the carseats, the snacks, and the gear for these kids' sports n' things, you'll never have the time or energy to match them. It's for this reason that I fully respect this woman's decision to say, “No,” as a complete sentence. Absolutely not!
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Mom working on an email with her two young kids on her lap.
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The mom's audacity to CC everyone else in the family to try and guilt-trip her to take on such a challenge is enough to go no-contact in my eyes.
I have family members who have young children, but I can't imagine them forcing me to take on parenting responsibilities. In this day and age, it's clear that parents have forgotten that the “village” they're relying on to raise their kids is actually just an accumulation of the willing adults in their lives who are ready to babysit. Don't burn bridges with the few people who are willing to help you, you may learn that suddenly your village of guardians has dwindled down to one: You.
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She must have heard her answer wrong both times, because when the mom decides to retaliate by doubling down, she must have really missed the point. Perhaps her entitlement has blinded her for so long that she's forgotten what it's like to ask about, plan around, and respect other people's decisions. Or maybe it's that infamous mommy brain fog we hear so much about.
Regardless, it's inexcusable to expect your cousin to babysit while you go off on a whirlwind, transatlantic vacation. Find another sitter or deal with it, that's not your family's burden to bear.
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