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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think my best friend is taking the piss

509 replies

Findingthisweekhard · 21/05/2024 14:59

Me best friends daughter and dd are in the same year at the same school. I have older and younger children too and she also has a 1 year old. She’s got a 1 year old and has recently gone back to work full time, her husband also works full time.
She has no formal childcare. She was due to use the same childminder as me but changed her mind last minute as they didn’t want to pay for it.
Now almost weekly she’s asking me to pick up her school age dd and have her after school until she finishes work. Last week I had a day annual leave with my young kids at the childminder as some much needed down time, the night before she messaged begging me to have her little one for the day as she had no other options and had to go in to the office (she does twice a week). I reluctantly agreed and it was awful. My chilled day wondering the shops and lunch with my sister turned in to me rocking a buggy for hours, eating my lunch stood up bouncing him and just generally miserable.
shes just messaged me again asking to do the school run and it’s given me absolute rage.
ive dropped my hours to part time and pay for wrap around childcare on my office days and a childminder for all my working hours so we have less disposable income but live within our means. She’s taking advantage of this, to their benefit of 2 full time salaries and no childcare costs.
she really is my best friend but this can’t go on, aibu to stop collecting her child from school when I’m there collecting mine anyway?

OP posts:
GerbilsForever24 · 22/05/2024 10:10

Findingthisweekhard · 22/05/2024 09:55

No reply and her husband did school run this morning. I’m at work but will reply later if I hear something

I'm sorry. YOu must be feeling stressed about it. She's obviously uncomfortable and embarassed and/or angry but you must feel so on edge waiting for a response. I get that. I hope it works out.

WimbyAce · 22/05/2024 10:10

Good for you, she was majorly taking the piss! I can't believe she asked you to have hers when you are paying for childcare for yours, unbelievable!!!

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 22/05/2024 10:11

I’d be tempted to type up and send her a bill for x amount £ and title it childcare.

If she comments, tell her, the rest of us pay it, I’m obviously yours and this is what you’d pay otherwise to a childminder.

Just seen what you sent her. You’re far too nice. Most if not all parents know about links for afterschool clubs and she’s trying her luck with you.

cstaff · 22/05/2024 10:14

Maybe by your text she has realised how ridiculous the whole thing was i.e. asking you to mind her kids when you had paid for childcare for your own and is now embarrassed and doesn't know how to come back from it. It may take her a day or two but hopefully she will see how unfair she was being by putting this on you and have a chat / apologise. If she stops talking to you because of this then that is on her, not you OP.

HalebiHabibti · 22/05/2024 10:15

I'm a bit surprised at all the posters saying they hope she replies gracefully. Surely anyone capable of behaving like this in the first place is very unlikely to be graceful when confronted, however politely?

OP, I think it would be more useful for you to brace yourself for guilt tripping, snide remarks, tears, anger etc. If you're prepared for them in advance then maybe they will sting less. And if they don't happen at all then it will be a happy result! But I'd be very surprised. The key thing is to remember that you are really not being UR at all, no matter what she says.

HollyKnight · 22/05/2024 10:15

Well, she now knows what you think of her. It's a bit late now, but if you intended to stop the childcare AND preserve the friendship, you should not have commented on her life choices and accused her of taking advantage of you.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 22/05/2024 10:17

GerbilsForever24 · 22/05/2024 10:10

I'm sorry. YOu must be feeling stressed about it. She's obviously uncomfortable and embarassed and/or angry but you must feel so on edge waiting for a response. I get that. I hope it works out.

The “friend” will probably show her true colours now. Cheeky mare.

Sunnyandsilly · 22/05/2024 10:21

not replying is rude as fuck. It is clear she fully intended to use you as her childcare. Permanently, she doesn’t even have the decency to say sorry. That’s bad.

Apollo365 · 22/05/2024 10:22

Findingthisweekhard · 22/05/2024 09:55

No reply and her husband did school run this morning. I’m at work but will reply later if I hear something

I don’t recon you’ll ever get a reply. She’ll probably ignore you on the school run now too. Completely entitled and pig headed!

Glad you said it though OP and book yourself another days AL ASAP and enjoy 😉

Sunnyandsilly · 22/05/2024 10:23

HollyKnight · 22/05/2024 10:15

Well, she now knows what you think of her. It's a bit late now, but if you intended to stop the childcare AND preserve the friendship, you should not have commented on her life choices and accused her of taking advantage of you.

Friendship is not letting someone take advantage and be too scared and timid to call it out. Yoire off beam here. The friend should be apologising she made the op feel like she did and using her as she did.

airforsharon · 22/05/2024 10:24

Hope you can get this resolved with your friendship intact OP.
If she does the 'how very dare you?!' routine, just ask her why she thinks you should pay for childcare but she shouldn't.

LadyKenya · 22/05/2024 10:27

HollyKnight · 22/05/2024 10:15

Well, she now knows what you think of her. It's a bit late now, but if you intended to stop the childcare AND preserve the friendship, you should not have commented on her life choices and accused her of taking advantage of you.

This. Not agreeing to be her unpaid childminder, did not have to include how you felt about her laxity in sorting things out, for her child. I would not have sent a message like that.

afrikat · 22/05/2024 10:28

Well done for messaging OP, it needed to be said. Hope she is reasonable in her response

eb949013 · 22/05/2024 10:28

If there is no reciprocation when it comes to supporting you then it's not friendship, its exploiting you and you must set boundaries. The ''it takes a village'' is so true but only if everyone in that village is helping each other!

LF23456 · 22/05/2024 10:34

A very rare sighting 🔎an OP with a backbone!

ExpectoPatronums · 22/05/2024 10:34

She has been very cheeky and you have been very patient. If she doesn't reply you'll know she didn't value your friendship in the way you did.

PossumintheHouse · 22/05/2024 10:36

The fact she hasn't responded is the pisstaking cherry on top of her CFuckery. She's purposefully giving you the silent treatment to make you sweat. If she doesn't respond to you reasonably today I'd seriously be rethinking the friendship, or at the very least her 'best friend' status.

alrightluv · 22/05/2024 10:37

I hope you're ok OP? It's awful when this sort of thing happens to friendships. You're doing the right thing though.

StealthNameChange · 22/05/2024 10:38

She’s not your best friend.

EmilyTheCriminal · 22/05/2024 10:39

I think you will either never hear from her again, or you will get a ridiculous reply about how hurt she is, how hard her life is, and how you've let her down.

Either way, you're completely in the right, and she knows it!

HollyKnight · 22/05/2024 10:40

Sunnyandsilly · 22/05/2024 10:23

Friendship is not letting someone take advantage and be too scared and timid to call it out. Yoire off beam here. The friend should be apologising she made the op feel like she did and using her as she did.

Nah. Like I said, if the OP just wanted to stop helping out without it affecting their friendship, she didn't need to go on the attack.

It's the OP's own lack of spine and boundaries that put her in this situation. And she's allowed the MN mob to rile her into throwing a grenade at the situation, without realising that people love to encourage drama when the outcome of it doesn't affect them.

Notonthestairs · 22/05/2024 10:46

Since when did "life choices" equate to unwilling to pay for childcare whilst in full time work but willing to guilt friends into looking after them for free?

Sunnyandsilly · 22/05/2024 10:48

HollyKnight · 22/05/2024 10:40

Nah. Like I said, if the OP just wanted to stop helping out without it affecting their friendship, she didn't need to go on the attack.

It's the OP's own lack of spine and boundaries that put her in this situation. And she's allowed the MN mob to rile her into throwing a grenade at the situation, without realising that people love to encourage drama when the outcome of it doesn't affect them.

I don’t agree, she’s made her feelings clear, I feel this is fine. Honestly just as she’s a woman she doesn’t need to hide her feelings, the friend should be grown up enough to accept how she’s made the op feel and address the issues.

Thursdaygirl · 22/05/2024 10:49

The OP didn't go on the attack - she sent a polite and balanced message.

teenboymom · 22/05/2024 10:53

That's really poor of her to not even aknowledge your text.