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Parenting

23rd Apr 2019

Couple ask their neighbours to cook and clean for them because they’re having a baby

Keeley Ryan

People were NOT having it.

It’s pretty normal to ask for help for those first few months after becoming a parent – typically, from your close friends or family members.

But one couple – who are expecting their first child – have come under fire after they asked their neighbours to cook and clean for them as they’ll be tired.

It all began when a Twitter user named JJ posted that he recently joined Nextdoor, a platform that allows you to connect with people in your neighbourhood.

While he thought it was a “great idea” at first, he soon noticed one of his neighbours post “the most ridiculous thing ever” on the site.

The anonymous man, who lives nearby, wrote to ask people to create a ‘meal-train’ and take turns cooking for him and his wife after the arrival of their first baby.

It read:

“As the father-to-be, I’m teetering on a fence of emotions. On one side is joy and excitement, of course. But on the other side is a great deal of fear!

“One of the things I’m most afraid of is not getting a great deal of sleep and as a result not being in the best frame of mind to offer my wife the support she needs to recover from the child-birthing process.

“That’s why I’m putting together this ‘meal-train’ or ‘mental-health check-in train’ or ‘Do you need any help today train’. A meal would be awesome. If you feel comfortable reaching out before you arrive to see if we might need anything else – that’d be even more awesome.”

And while he initially tried to give the parents-to-be the benefit of the doubt, he then came across their very specific meal plan.

The couple had put together a list of more than 30 specific meals they would like, as well showing how to make those meals. They also included their favourite foods and the ingredients they wanted people to avoid.

The parents-to-be said that anyone who didn’t want to cook was welcome to do some housework – hoovering, washing dishes or walking their dog – as it would “nourish” them as much as a meal.

The Twitter user added:

“This guy then tops it all of by telling us we can sign up for a day to text, and if they decide they would rather not see people, WE CAN COOK THEM A MEAL AND LEAVE IT FOR THEM IN A COOLER HE WILL PROVIDE IN THE YARD BECAUSE HE COULDN’T BE BOTHERED ANSWERING THE DOOR.

“If I don’t egg their house I deserve an award.”

The couple are being roasted by Twitter users after JJ’s initial post went viral.

One person said:

“If they spent less time writing up ridiculous requests and arrangements, they could have prepped weeks worth of dinners themselves.”

Another added:

“Dude really coulda used all that time he wasted posting recipe preferences prepping for fatherhood and/or cooking a freezer FULL OF MEALS.”

Topics:

Twitter,viral