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Original poster

SIL furious niece cut her knee.

182 replies

Clockchair · 22/07/2025 09:36

So I was baby sitting DN 13 months for the first time. We were playing in the garden, she has started toddling about so only walking a few steps at a time. She was playing with my DD 3 years and she's tripped and scraped her knee. Just a normal little scrape, didn't even cry and laughed her head off when we put a special princess plaster on.

Well SIL collected her and is furious. She says I should have watched her more closely as she isn't walking properly yet and this is the first time she had been injured and it was when I was watching her so maybe I shouldn't babysit again. She is also upset that I didn't ring her when it happened.

Now for me it's not a big deal so I didn't even think to ring, that being said I have a 3 year old who is permanently covered in scrapes and bruises so maybe my opinion is a bit skewed.

Was I really unreasonable? I am gutted that she thinks I wasnt supervising properly.

OP posts:
jalepenowine · 22/07/2025 10:57

Oh she will look back on this one day and cringe. Maybe if/when she has another child. But I wouldn’t be babysitting for her anymore either.

I remember with my first taking him out with my cousin who’d suggested a walk in the forest. My DS was 15 months and he walked into some stinging nettles because my cousin had asked me to help do something with her own DC and I wasn’t quick enough to get my own son. I was so angry at her for asking me to help her and put my son in ‘grave danger’ lol! Also a bee landed on him that same trip and got caught under his armpit, I somehow thought that was also her fault because we were only there because of her!! I look back and laugh now, we both do!

I’ve since had another boy who is always getting bruises and scrapes while out and about, he doesn’t cry either and just gets on with it! I am far far more relaxed with him! Thank god!! Lol

autienotnaughty · 22/07/2025 10:57

Ignore her and agree you shouldn’t babysit anymore

viques · 22/07/2025 10:55

Newly walking toddlers fall over. Fact of life. Wait until they start doing tough stuff like riding a proper bike! I remember my daughter aged about five or six sitting in the bath gleefully counting up the bruises she had the weekend she learned to ride a two wheeler without stabilisers. “ 32 bruises mummy! “ she said “can I phone Granny?”

I just prayed she wouldn’t get chosen for “Tell your weekend news” on the Monday morning.

HunnyPot · 22/07/2025 10:39

If she is that precious she should look after her own child instead of dumping her on other people!

Original poster
Clockchair · 22/07/2025 10:37

Dramatic · 22/07/2025 10:30

No she's being ridiculous, this is how toddlers learn, they need to be allowed to fall and pick themselves back up again.

I had a situation when my daughter was around 15/16 months old, left her with my SIL who left her out in the garden alone while she went upstairs to put her make up on. My daughter climbed on to a chair, tipped it backwards and fell face first on to concrete, split her lip and chipped her tooth. I never left her with SIL again.

Oh dear, it was nothing like that.

We were all in the garden together playing, she was being supervised she just tripped. I picked her up straight away as I say she didn't even cry but she did scrape her knee.

OP posts:
Catwoman8 · 22/07/2025 10:37

She sounds insufferable. I wouldn't be so keen to offer babysitting duties again 🙄

Meadowfinch · 22/07/2025 10:35

SIL's pfb? She'll learn 😁

romdowa · 22/07/2025 10:35

She would never have survived my first born. He was 13 months when we got married and gave himself a black eye falling two days before hand . He was forever falling

HappyToSmile · 22/07/2025 10:35

Accidents happen, but no problem, they don't need your babysitting duties anymore.

readingismycardio · 22/07/2025 10:34

I have a v energic 16 mo old. He scrapes his knees frequently, I don’t mind and won’t complain, can I bring him over sometimes?😂

Motherofdragons24 · 22/07/2025 10:32

your SIL is right, you absolutely shouldn’t babysit again… for your benefit.

spoonbillstretford · 22/07/2025 10:31

DD1 tripped up and grazed her top lip when she was at the childminders at the same age, the childminder was extremely experienced and absolutely mortified. While it was awful to see her with a little grazed face, I just said that these things happen when they are just walking and you have to let them have a little go on their own sometimes.

Dramatic · 22/07/2025 10:30

No she's being ridiculous, this is how toddlers learn, they need to be allowed to fall and pick themselves back up again.

I had a situation when my daughter was around 15/16 months old, left her with my SIL who left her out in the garden alone while she went upstairs to put her make up on. My daughter climbed on to a chair, tipped it backwards and fell face first on to concrete, split her lip and chipped her tooth. I never left her with SIL again.

thelakeisle · 22/07/2025 10:28

Never - and I do mean NEVER - babysit for this batshit woman again.

Azandme · 22/07/2025 10:27

BodenCardiganNot · 22/07/2025 10:16

Was I really unreasonable? I am gutted that she thinks I wasnt supervising properly.

You know you weren't unreasonable. You posted to get exactly the type of replies you have got.

Are you unpleasant in real life?

Springtimehere · 22/07/2025 10:26

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

myheadsjustmush · 22/07/2025 10:26

You did absolutely nothing wrong at all OP.

Your SIL, on the other hand, appears to be showing very early signs that she is going to be 'one of those parents'.......🙄🤦‍♀️

PoliteSquid · 22/07/2025 10:25

First time I tried to cut my PFB’s nails I nicked her finger tip and it bled…. I “may” have googled how to stem bleeding in an injured baby…. I rang DH utterly distraught.

A couple more kids later and one ran into a fence aged about 2 and cut his lip. Treated that with a baby wipe and got on with our day!!

Coventgardengirl · 22/07/2025 10:24

RetroViral · 22/07/2025 09:53

What on earth is PFB? There isn’t even anything on google for that?

Precious first baby syndrome

PassingStranger · 22/07/2025 10:24

Couchpotato3 · 22/07/2025 09:40

SIL is batshit. On the plus side, you won't be saddled with further babysitting duties. Win!

Perhaps op.like seeing her neice and didn't see it as being saddled.

JustSawJohnny · 22/07/2025 10:23

Fourteenandahalf · 22/07/2025 10:14

My friend is still pfb about her 8 year old.
I remember age 4 she still wasn't allowed to walk on a pavement or gravel type surface without holding an adults hand 😂

That's fully batshit!!

Poor kid.

JustSawJohnny · 22/07/2025 10:21

If she tries to drag this out and blow up the family, I'd send her the link to this thread.

She needs a viper sized head wobble.

Like big. HUGE.

Tourmalines · 22/07/2025 10:20

She’s a helicopter parent and will stunt her kids growth and make her anxious. She should be apologising to you. She’s a twat .

PersephonePomegranate · 22/07/2025 10:19

PFB syndrome makes us lunatics.

Err not in my experience. It only happens if they're a bit of a tit the first place. It often goes hand in hand with Princess syndrome, I find.

BodenCardiganNot · 22/07/2025 10:16

Was I really unreasonable? I am gutted that she thinks I wasnt supervising properly.

You know you weren't unreasonable. You posted to get exactly the type of replies you have got.