11 Cringe-Worthy Moments When Parents Refused to Respect Boundaries

Most parents do their best to raise polite, respectful kids. But some take the idea of setting boundaries and flip it completely — using their children as an excuse to ignore everyone else’s. From hijacked celebrations to strangers being voluntold into babysitting, these stories show what happens when “my kid comes first” turns into “everyone else doesn’t matter.”

• Last weekend, I was grocery shopping and I was walking down the aisle when all of a sudden a child that was running between the aisles bumped into me. I guess he must have been around 8 years old.
  Neither one of us fell or anything, but for the child, it was quite the bump. He stumbled backwards a few steps. He looks up and says, “Sorry, mister.’’ Just as I was about to say, “It’s okay, buddy,” his mother shows up behind him, grabs him by the wrists, and leads him away. I hear her say, "Don’t apologise, it’s his mistake, he didn’t see you.’’
  This shocked me. This child was behaving perfectly as any polite human being would, yet his mother is steering him towards rude behavior. © alii66E / Reddit

• It’s my birthday today. My husband wanted to take me out to celebrate. Until my roommate blurts out "the baby should go too, since it’s her birthday too. I responded with, “YOU should take your daughter out, on her 1st birthday”. Then listed a few free activities that a baby would enjoy, as she argued that she doesn’t have money. That baby has been sitting in her bouncer, alone, in the bedroom, for hours. I feel like if I don’t show the baby some attention, no one will. © Dreamcrusher5427 / Reddit

• I used to work in retail. Was walking through the baby aisle to go on my break. A woman and her daughter, maybe 5 or 6, were walking ahead of me. Little girl bumped into a rack and knocked a bunch of little clothes off onto the floor. She reached down to start picking them up. I was just about to tell her, “No, it’s ok, I got this,” when her mom yanks her away and says, “Don’t clean that up, it’s someone’s job!” I hope that girl grows up and continues to be polite and thoughtful, and whoever adult taught her that has more custody than her mom. © FiftyShadesOfPikmin / Reddit

• I was having a small birthday dinner with friends at a restaurant, and when the cake arrived with lit candles, everyone started singing. Out of nowhere, a mom from a nearby table walks over with her toddler and says, “Let him blow out the candles, he loves doing that.” I thought she was joking, but she was dead serious.
  I was caught off guard, so my friend stepped in and said, "It’s her birthday. The mom actually scoffed and said, “So? He’s just a kid. Don’t be rude.” I blew out my own candles, and she walked away muttering that I ruined her evening. Sorry, but your kid is not entitled to hijack someone else’s celebration. © Annual-Strength-751 / Reddit

• I was on a long bus ride when a mom asked if I could switch seats so her child could have the window. I agreed. Then she asked if I could give him my charger. Then my snack. When I finally said no, she snapped, “He’s only five.” I said, “Then he’s old enough to hear no.” She spent the rest of the ride loudly explaining how rude strangers are these days.

• My girlfriend and I don’t have kids, so we have extra “free time,” as we always get told by my cousin, who has 4 kids.
  She had been joking around lately and saying we should take care of the children, as she has booked a cruise with her new boyfriend. We didn’t pay any attention to it, as it sounded absurd and just laughed along with her.
  At 7 am in the morning, we heard some knocking on the door. We knew it wouldn’t be the postman, as they don’t arrive that early, and we weren’t expecting any visitors.
  I go down to check who it is and see my cousin’s 4 kids standing out there, mother nowhere in sight. I open the door and bring them in. They said, “She told us that you would take care of us while she is on her cruise, so we took the bus and came to your house.”
  I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. So I called her immediately, and her phone was off. Called her new boyfriend, and his phone went to voicemail. I called my aunt, and she said that my cousin had told her I agreed to take care of the kids. She didn’t even have the courtesy to drop them off and made them catch the bus on a cold winter day. Thinking of calling child services at this point. © Fxlearner / Reddit

• Booked the business because it guaranteed the middle seat would stay empty. The other passenger in the aisle seat was a man in his 40s or 50s. His wife and son came in, asking me to switch (business for economy) so they could all sit there. Then they told me that if I didn’t switch with the wife, the son would sit in the middle at least, reasoning that I didn’t need an empty seat next to me and claiming the stewardess allowed it. Turned out, she said it was possible if the other passenger agreed, to which they replied that I was family, so I would 100% agree.
  I didn’t budge, the son and wife had to stay in the economy, and his father spent almost 4 hours muttering passive-aggressive comments. Whenever I took off my headphones, he was still going... © rask0ln / Reddit

• I agreed to babysit for two hours. The parents returned five hours later and laughed it off, saying, “Time flies when you’re kid-free.” When I asked for extra pay, they looked offended and said, “We thought you loved spending time with her.” And I was totally shocked when they paid me in leftover pizza.

• It was the afternoon, and the bus was full. I was sitting in a seat by the aisle when that pregnant woman stepped onto the bus. She told me she needed my seat. No polite question, no please, no hello, just the demand to give up my seat. I explained to her that I had a disability and that I had struggled standing, and that I’d rather not be in pain. That woman began calling me rude and saying that I was trying to harm her and her baby by refusing to get up.
  Some other woman then offered her seat. When I got up at my stop, she made a snide remark about how I was surely faking and that I could walk just fine. © Ol_ymp / Reddit

• I was hosting a dinner party when my friend showed up unannounced with her toddler and immediately started telling me to put away candles, move breakables, and change the music because it “wasn’t kid-friendly.” When I said this wasn’t a kids’ event, she said she couldn’t find a sitter and asked where he could nap. I was so shocked that I grabbed her coat, told her this wasn’t happening, and said she needed to leave. She stormed out, later texting me that I was cruel, unaccommodating, and clearly didn’t understand what it meant to be a real friend.

• My brother surprised me with a trip to Scotland for my birthday. Due to tight finances, it was just the two of us. He is married and has two kids. His wife had said she was happy for me and didn’t mind holding down the fort for a week while we’re on the trip. She and I have never been close, and quite frankly, we just tolerate each other for the sake of keeping the peace.
  The trip was amazing, and I loved every second of it. Imagine my surprise when I get a text three days after coming back from my SIL telling me off and calling me rude and ungrateful cause I didn’t send her a text thanking her for “babysitting” on her own and having to do everything around her house for a whole week while I had fun with her husband (yup, that’s exactly how she worded it). © Relevant_Artichoke24 / Reddit

Parents are absolutely allowed to advocate for their kids — but not at the expense of basic decency. These moments weren’t about children misbehaving, they were about adults refusing to hear the word “no.” And if there’s one takeaway from these stories, it’s this — boundaries only work when they apply to everyone, not just other people.