Christmas is a special time of the year for people of all ages, whether you're a child excited for Santa, a parent who's making the holidays magical for your little ones, or you're just simply looking forward to spending time with your loved ones. But one woman has been blasted online for believing she is more entitled to spending the big day with her family.
As a single parent with an autistic child, she felt she should be allowed to be with her four-year-old boy on Christmas Day - and that she was within her rights to ask her single colleague to withdraw their holiday request.
But she received a lot of backlash after confessing her request on Mumsnet. The author went on to explain that she usually gets along with her colleague, but has been left in an awkward situation after they both asked for Christmas off, the Mirror reports.
Her "closed-minded" post stirred up some controversy among other users who argued that it's unfair to "minimise" her colleague's Christmas because she does not have a child. The author wrote: "Ok I feel terrible about this but me and my colleague who I get on with quite well normally have both requested Christmas Day off but our manager has said that only one of us can have it off and that we need to sort it out.
"I have asked her to withdraw her request as she and her husband, who have no kids, normally go to her husband's parents on Christmas Day, but they also go every week so it's not like they never see them whereas I, on the other hand, have a four-year-old Autistic son.
"He normally goes to nursery but his nursery closes 1 week before Christmas and doesn't open until next year. The shift in question is a three hour shift between 7 and 10 in the morning, so she and her husband could still be at his parents for lunchtime, whereas because I am a single mama and the nurseries are closed I have no one to watch my son.
"Yes I could pay someone but it would be extremely expensive and he would most likely be very distressed with having someone he is unfamiliar with in his home, plus it would be difficult for the said person as my son is non-verbal. I do feel bad asking her to do this but if she won't then I am going to have no choice but to leave my job."
One user disagreed with the entitled mother as they fumed: "Oh yeah I forgot! If you don't have children then Christmas and family means absolutely nothing to you!"
Another person who offered some friendly advice wrote: "I would explain to her and ask her. If I was her I'd work it for you."
Someone else said: "Why do you need to be in? Could you just be on call? I agree your situation seems more in need of the time off, however you are very wrong to dismiss her request just because she doesn’t have children.
"How closed-minded are you, her family is just as important, Christmas isn't just for children. If she works this year then you need to do next year or the new year etc. In future you perhaps need to make alternate arrangements well in advance, or have a backup. You can't assume you'll have Christmas off every year forever."
Another Mumsnet user somewhat agreed with the mother, writing: "I think it is okay to ask because you are in a very difficult situation, however it is not ok to minimise her Christmas just because she has no child."
Another person blamed the awkward situation on the management, saying: "Your manager really needs to deal with this - both of your requests ought to be put in and they should consider each. It's lazy management to ask you to decide amongst yourselves."
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