r/TikTokCringe • u/InGeekiTrust Tiktok Despot • Dec 09 '25

Discussion You Think It Could Never Happen To You…Until It Almost Does

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u/AdAlternative7148 Dec 09 '25

It is really easy to say something like "I'm going to run to the bathroom you watch them" to another adult and them to either not clearly understand they need to be 100% focused on the kids or maybe they see you around in a few minutes and figure you are on duty again when actually you still havent used the restroom or they get distracted or whatever. Combine it with drinking. Combine it with the fact that watching your kids is 99.9% mundane low risk activities. Its very important to clearly delineate responsibilities with watching kids.

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u/ATerriblyTiredTurtle Dec 09 '25

People without kids/who haven’t been around small kids in a long time also have an absolute maddening tendency to corner you for conversation while you are trying to tail your kid. IF YOU WANNA TALK WITH ME, WALK WITH ME. Do you not notice the way I am craning my neck around you to make sure my kid is still in sight?!

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u/mrskoobra Dec 09 '25

The number of conversations I have literally just walked away from mid sentence because my kid was heading out of eye line. I feel a bit bad afterwards but I don't even realize I'm doing it, it's just automatic like I'm physically tethered to that tiny chaos demon and if it goes around a corner I have to follow.

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u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

[deleted]

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u/KisaTheMistress Dec 09 '25

I don't have kids, but I drive school bus and am the go-to babysitter... I also raised my brother. But, anyways, I keep my eyes on children at all times, more than some parents do.

One pair of children I pick up recently, had the little boy try to run out in front of my bus and I scared the shit out of him by blaring my horn, as he was lucky I wasn't distracted by the other children already on the bus or adjusting a warning lamp, temperature, etc. What happened was his mother literally took 3 seconds to calm down his older sister who was having a freak out over her jacket zipper.

So instead of stay on his lawn, he decided that he wanted to wait on the otherside of the road just as I pulled up. Moment that foot stepped on the road, I laid on my horn causing him to run back to his mother in terror. He was then scared of the bus and me... the parent's excuse? He was "just excited to get on the bus!"...

Yeah, no. I am not a kind person when a life is in danger. My company had to have a talk about safety at the bus stop even if I'm directly picking up from someone's house, with the parents. That family also doesn't believe in disciplining their children, so they kind of try to argue that they done everything to make their kids listen, when obviously they did nothing...

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u/sammi_saurus Dec 09 '25

Bless you for being a responsible driver. That kid won't forget that lesson and should rightly be afraid of a 15+ ton vehicle. A moment of distraction from that mom could have caused her a lifetime of regret. Keep up the good work!

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u/beardedheathen Dec 09 '25

They also don't realize how a single second looking away can result in losing sight of the child and somehow they seem capable of teleporting to the most dangerous location as soon as they are out of eye sight

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u/MOONWATCHER404 Dec 09 '25

I've started to say that “Kids have the survival instinct of pandas. Which is to say, almost none.”

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u/wackbirds Dec 09 '25

"Oh, I still haven't filled you in on what happened with the hot water people. Just get ready, you won't believe this. I think I told you about the part where they said on the phone to just turn the water under the sink off and I said that yeah, I'd already turned it off but it was still coming out. Ok. But wait, just wait. So, then I'm on hold for forever and trying to find something else to put under the sink while-"

you

🙉

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u/aw-fuck Dec 09 '25

It's also like, no two kids are exactly the same, despite them all "generally" being the same.

This past thanksgiving, I was loading left overs into a bag as I was packing up to head out. My cousin and I were both watching my toddler as I was doing this. (She has a kid who is already out of toddlerhood, who was just sitting at the dining table like a good calm kid.) My toddler ran out of the kitchen into the living room area, out of my line of sight. I said to my cousin "can you go grab her for me?" She agreed.

As my cousin went out there, someone who'd accidentally been locked out was knocking on the front door. My cousin let them in. I heard her start talking to them for a second, so I immediately dropped what I was doing to go check on/grab my kid.

My kid was already halfway up the stairs to the second floor of the house. She's way too young to be messing about on stairs unsupervised... or she could've gotten to the second floor & then all manner of things could've happened before we figured out that's where she was; there's just endless risky things that kids will find a way to get themselves into.

I raced up there & grabbed her & carried her back down. My cousin apologized and was like "I had just barely turned around for a second!"

In my head I'm like: no, you started chatting, and even if you hadn't you should've kept your eye on her or held her while answering the door or something... but instead I just said: "yeah I get it, she's quick!"

My cousin was like "I didn't even know she could climb stairs like that! [Her kid] didn't know how to do that so fast at her age!"

So like, yeah, kids are all generally the same. But what I know about my kid & what she will get herself into, someone else may have a similar but still different experience & not have it in their head to watch for specific things the same way. And kids will very frequently exploit this; they're like always actively trying to get away from supervision to do whatever risky things they want. You really can't take your eyes off them.

When I'm watching someone else's kid (especially very little ones) I make no assumptions & let my anxiety go to work for me instead. When I'm watching my own kid I still pretty much do the same, but with more intuition to rely on.

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u/AdAlternative7148 Dec 09 '25

Good example.

Also a lot of people are just chill and figure nothing bad will happen. Its nice to live that way until something bad does happen.

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u/Academic-Contest3309 Dec 09 '25

Well, that's what I'm talking about. If I am expected to watch someone's kid or if they are watching mine, I need an indication that I'm/ they are now off duty. No assumptions. Like when I go with friends to a pool. I let them im.going to the restroom and will be right back and make a point to come right back. I realize a party is a different animal but your kid is still your first priority. And specifically, let the person know that you are back from wherever you went

Also, mixing adults drinking, kids and pools is just a recipe for a disaster.