Should having kids make one employee’s time off more important than everyone else’s?

This is an eternal debate between the people who have kids and the ones who don’t. There’s a weird line that is crossed, no matter the field or the topic, in which who have become parents feel more entitled to certain things, because having little children makes them less accommodating than others. Looks like deciding to have a child suddenly makes everything more urgent, and now you need favours from everyone…

This employee had booked a weekend trip with his friends and told his manager in advance because he needed to have that certain Friday off. The supervisor approved his request, and he was happy about it. That same week, his coworker Sarah asked if he could work Friday because her babysitter had canceled and she didn’t know what to do with her kids. He told her it was impossible because he had this trip. She insisted, asked if he could at least do half a shift, and he said no. 

From my perspective, he’s doing the right thing. And here’s where this fine line appears. Sarah, because she’s a mother, feels more entitled to have that day off than the other employee. And that’s not okay. Having kids is a personal decision, and you need to be responsible about it. I don’t think anyone else’s free time is less valuable because they aren’t parents. 

Things escalated and got even worse when the manager asked him to reconsider his decision not to help Sarah. Honestly, what’s there to reconsider? He’s made up his mind, and he has a trip booked… It’s not like he’s going to stay home doing nothing. Also, he said that he covered Sarah in the past, and that this is one of the first times that he actually can’t do it.

Anyways, he ended up going on the trip (obviously), and when he returned, he noticed that Sarah was being cold and not acting normal. Another coworker called him selfish because he’s not a parent and apparently can have more flexibility accommodating his time off…