The anonymous woman shared her story with Reddit's infamous AITA ("Am I the A--hole") forum to see if she was too harsh when she snapped at her stepdaughter as she was attempting to drop the kids off.

The OP (a.k.a., "the original poster") thought she was pretty clear where she stood on the issue, so was surprised at how strongly she was being challenged on it when her stepdaughter told her to "step up" and babysit.

OP did not mince words in explaining her personal feelings on the matter, starting her story with the blanket statement, "I have never wanted kids."

She went on to explain, "I was forced to watch my younger siblings (4 of them) until I left at the age of 16. I greatly dislike babysitting and never had my own children. Never have been comfortable around young kids after that."

This continued through her life and into her current marriage. "My husband has three children," she explained, "I met and married him when his kids were in their 20s. I am not a mother figure to them at all, just their dad’s wife." OP said she always "got along well with the three adults."

As OP explained it, "the problem" started when one of those stepchildren, Kelly, became pregnant. "Everyone was excited for the first baby in the family," she wrote, qualifying, "I made it clear I didn’t want to babysit and when grandkids were around my husband was to be the main caretaker. My husband agreed."

She said that things went fine for two years. "my husband is an awesome grandpa and I am fine being the relative that brings toys and other fun stuff once in a while," she wrote. But that apparently hasn't been quite enough for Kelly, with OP adding that she's "been pushing hard for me to take up a more traditional grandma role."

OP explained, "Her MIL isn’t involved (she lives a few states over). Kelly has gotten in her head that I should be doing the babysitting instead of her father. We have talked to her multiple times."

That set up the foundation for the ensuing incident that drove OP to Reddit in the first place. It all started when her husband went on a work trip for a week, thus canceling his usual Monday night babysitting. According to OP, Kelly opted not to get this memo and showed up anyway.

"I asked what she was doing since her dad wasn’t here," OP wrote. "She told me that I need to step up and babysit. That she doesn’t care if her dad isn’t here, I am present. I told her no."

"This went in circles for a bit and got more heated the longer we went. I told her I don’t want to watch any fixing kids and that includes yours. She is pissed," OP concluded. "My husband is fine with what I did but his other children are on his ass."

Now she wants to know if she's a jerk and was too harsh: "AITA for telling my stepdaughter I don't want to watch any f--king kids and that includes yours?"

While her stance is pretty blunt and could even be seen as harsh, many Redditors applauded OP for being open and upfront about her boundaries when it comes to interacting with children. One even asked OP if she'd shared her story with the stepdaughter.

"Have you described why you don't want to do it?" they asked. "Because I think if you frame it as you did here (essentially 'I was forced to look after children when I was a child and ran away from home because of it') it is difficult to see how someone can still be pissed."

"Yes it was explained," OP wrote succinctly, to which another responded, "Then there's no excuse for her behavior whatsoever. You said no, you told her why, and she still pushed it. That's on her."

Still another questioned what stepdaughter is even doing pushing the issue when OP has made her opinion so clear. "Why would you want to force your kids on someone who doesn’t want to be with them?" they asked. "That’s so bizarre."

Still, there were those who tried to tell OP that by marrying a man with kids, she became a de facto parent, and then grandparent. "If you’re married to grandpa, before the kid is even born, you are grandma. She’s just a bad one," wrote one commenter. But OP wasn't having that. "You realize marry[ing] someone with ADULT children doesn't make you a parent," she commented.

One commenter, who was the child in a similar situation, shared her story, writing, "Tbh I do not understand aggressively CF [child free] people who marry people with children. Even when they grow up they are still that partners child. That includes possibly grandchildren. Having grown up in a situation like this but as the child…it f-king sucks to know someone who would typically be in a grandparent role wants nothing to do with you."

They then qualified their statement to OP, for assurance. "To be clear, you aren’t TA for not babysitting. SD sucks for being so aggressive, even if it’s coming from a good place," they wrote. "I just wish CF people would consider this first before marrying people with children."

Another commenter called OP "incredibly immature" and wrote, "You’re part of a family. Why do you want to be the wicked grandmother? Surely you knew grandchildren were a possibility when you married a man with children. You’re that curmudgeonly that you can’t spend a single afternoon with your husband’s grandkids?"

"Wicked?!" marveled OP in a reply. "That's a strong description."

But the commenter wasn't done, as they still had plenty of vitriol for the stepdaughter, too, adding, "She’s also a jerk for trying to leave her kids with a kid-hater. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having my kids around someone like that, and my relationship with my father would suffer tremendously if he was married to someone who couldn’t bear to be around my children."

Not to be left out, as this commenter declared ESH ("Everyone Sucks Here"), the husband "also sucks if he doesn’t realize or care about how this situation is putting his wife and his daughter at each other’s throats."

There were plenty of people who had her back, though, with one Redditor saying that as a fellow "child free woman," she refuses to date anyone with kids. She also praised OP's husband for "standing with you though. That's a sign of a good partner."

Another also pointed out that OP clearly stated "she brings the toys and does fun stuff with them with their grandad." She just draws the line at babysitting, which "doesn't equal wicked grandmother and kid-hater."

"Who tf just drops off kids as if they're entitled to babysitting?" asked one Redditor. "'You need to step up' um no. Babysitting is a favor and she's not entitled to it. Especially when she has been told no."

"The absolute AUDACITY to just show up and try to dump kids off KNOWING full well you said you would not do it," marveled another Redditor. "Unreal."

What do you think?