Babysitter says she got fired for telling kids it's 'inappropriate' to wear Native American headdress

While taking care of kids as a babysitter is a challenge in itself, facing criticisms from parents for how they interact with kids is another issue. Recently, a woman named Lyric gained traction on TikTok when she posted that she was fired for teaching the right thing to the kids she was babysitting. Though she had a valid reason for telling the kids that wearing a Native American headdress was inappropriate, the parents felt offended and fired her.

Lyric began her video talking about the criticizing message she received from the parents of the kids. When they asked her if she told the boys that it was inappropriate to wear a Native American headdress, she agreed and proceeded to explain the situation to them. Turns out, the kids wanted to wear the Native American headdress as their Halloween costumes. So, when the little ones asked if their babysitter liked their choice, she was a bit skeptical. She was worried because the kids, who often saw movies about American heroes who demeaned the Native Americans, wanted to wear the headdress for the wrong reasons. So she was just honest with the kids and said that the costume was "inappropriate." 

Lyric tried to explain to the parents that she would be feeling uncomfortable if someone were to wear a Nigerian garb as a Halloween costume. Even after her explanation, the parents only focused on her remark on the Native American headdress. The parent insisted that since the children's grandparents were Native Americans, the kids must be "very proud" to wear the headdress. Though the babysitter agreed with them, she was worried that the kids were planning to wear the headdress in the context of those American heroes who "shoot all the Indians." She was also concerned that the parents were letting the kids watch movies that were offensive to their indigenous origin. However, she felt bad for even commenting anything about this to the kids. But the internet rallied around her.

"I think it’s totally fair for you to have said what you said and please don’t pander to them," chimed in @charismacherie. "My #1 issue as a nanny was being so conscientious. I had to stop because I found myself in predicaments where I had to avoid overstepping the boundaries of parenting some parents," said @fogbrain. "It's wonderful that you were honest. They don't know any better and now that they do they can decide for themselves," added @aurorahalohingano3. 

After her video gained over 3 million views, Lyric posted an update that she got fired from her babysitting job. All she did was teach the kids the right thing, but the parents didn't like her involvement to that extent. However, Lyric took her situation sportively. She simply responded with the famous "coconut tree" saying that Kamala Harris requoted, "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." No matter how her job turned out, Lyric got the support she deserved from thousands on the internet. 

You can follow @lyric.eo on TikTok for more babysitting content.

This article originally appeared 6 months ago.