Mom refuses to pick up her 10-year-old daughter's friend from camp after his dad failed to reply to any of her confirmation messages: 'I didn’t feel comfortable taking his child'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 27, 2026 5:00 PM EDT

On what occasions should you take responsibility for somebody else's kid?

As much as we might love kids, most of us don't want to be held responsible for the safety of a kid who is not ours. Kids are a lot of work, and can easily, even way too easily, get hurt, lost, or many other things that put them at risk. We, the adults, are supposed to ensure that no harm is done to them at any time.

And we do. We take care of our children and keep them safe with everything we have. Any parent will take you; there is no line they wouldn't cross for the sake of their child. There is truly no limit to their love. That doesn't mean the same applies to other people's children, too. As much as you might care for this young generation, it doesn't mean you are ready to take responsibility for every child out there.

Every parent must take care of their own children. That should be the end of it. Right?

Well, the dad in the story below might not agree. It seems like he thinks that someone else should be in charge of his own son and make decisions based on that alone. It all started when another mom agreed to pick up his 10 year old son, Charlie, from camp, along with her daughter.

However, the mom tried to set up all the details with Charlie's dad before the day of the pickup, but the dad completely ignored her texts and calls. Without any confirmation, the mom didn't want to just take Charlie from camp, so she decided to leave the boy with the camp counselors instead. Let his own dad be responsible for Charlie's pickup. When the dad finally reached out to the mom and asked her about his son, he discovered Charlie was left behind, and he was not happy about it whatsoever…

Advertisement
  • 01
    Smiling mom driving with her daughter sitting on backseat of car
    via Zinkevych

    Smiling mom driving with her daughter sitting on backseat of car

  • 02

    AITA for refusing to transport a child home when the parent wouldn’t confirm pickup details?

    My daughter (Louisa, 10) was going to an out of state camp about three hours away for a week. A friend (Maria) was driving her kids up, as well as a boy (Charlie, 10) that she knows. She
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 03
    asked if my daughter wanted to ride up with them, and Louisa happily agreed. Maria said that after camp she would be going to her parents' home in another state, so she wouldn't be able to
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 04
    bring Louisa or Charlie back home. She suggested that Charlie's dad and I coordinate a carpool. I told her that I would be picking Louisa up (since I do not know Charlie or his dad), but if Charlie needed a ride, I would be willing.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 05
    I didn't hear anything from Charlie's dad, so I figured he felt the same way I did and would drive Charlie himself.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 06
    The day of departure, I brought Louisa to Maria's house. Charlie and his dad were there as well. Maria wanted to know if we had worked out the details for the time/meeting place since I would
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 07
    be driving Charlie home. I was slightly annoyed that Charlie's dad never bothered to get in touch. with me to ask personally if I would be OK with it. However, I did offer, so it is what it is.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 08
    The kids needed to be picked up Saturday morning, and by Friday morning I still hadn't heard from Charlie's dad, so I asked Maria for his info. I texted him and asked if Charlie still needed a ride. He
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 09
    replied a few hours later with "yes." I told him, "not a problem," and let him know that I would be picking them up at 9am, which means we would be getting home.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 10
    about noon. I suggested a meeting place not too far from the highway since we live about an hour from each other. No response. I texted him a couple of
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 11
    hours later and asked if everything I said sounded OK. I called him Friday evening and left a message. I called Saturday morning. I then texted him and let him know that I
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 12
    would not be driving his child home unless we agreed on a time/place to meet. No response.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 13
    A young boy waiting in a bus station, presented by models.
    via Getty Images

    A young boy waiting in a bus station, presented by models.

  • 14
    I arrived at the camp at 9am as planned, waited a half hour to hear from Charlie's dad. We had my grandfather's 85th birthday party to attend at 1:30pm, so we
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 15
    could not stay there all day. I made the decision to leave without Charlie.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 16
    The counselors were present, and the camp was still fully operational, so Charlie was supervised and not left alone.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 17
    Around 11am, his dad finally responded. He sent a text saying the time/place I mentioned would be fine. I immediately called him to let him know I did not have
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 18
    Charlie with me, and he lost his mind. I told him he needed to calm down since he was on speaker phone and my daughter was in the car. I ended up having to hang up on him.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 19
    He called back and left a message saying he worked late and slept in because of it, and responded to me as quickly as he could.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 20
    I understand I offered to help with transport, but I didn't feel comfortable taking his child without any confirmed plan or communication.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 21
    Not every person I've told this to agrees with what I did. I need to know, am I the as 'le for leaving Charlie?
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 22
    **additional information- Maria's house was very chaotic that day. There were several other families who were meeting there so they could all leave for the camp at the
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 23
    same time. There were 20+ kids running around. Maria pointed Charlie's dad out, but he was outside talking to someone else. I got involved in other conversations and he left before we talked.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132
  • 24
    I don't know at what point he added me, but I was listed as someone who was allowed to take Charlie.
    via Kitchen-Tomato2132

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

family drama kids carpool mother car camp driving parenting aunt family women parents children Father
Scroll Down For The Next Article