A stay-at-home mum has told how her neighbour began taking advantage, asking for her to look after her so she could indulge in some "me time".

The 53-year-old mum, who has two children of her own, initially agreed to help her full-time working neighbour, Zoe, by looking after her nine-year-old daughter, Sue, before twice a week.

But she soon found herself overwhelmed with the situation as her children don't get along well with Sue, and she finds entertaining her to be a "chore". And Zoe started making multiple demands, such as asking the woman to drive the children to school instead of letting them walk or ride their bikes; cooking specific meals; and imposing rules on playtime activities.

Despite these requests being made respectfully, the woman was still rubbed up the wrong way and refused. On , she penned: "I told her I was not going to make adjustments to our family lifestyle and inconvenience my family for the sake of her child. Sue's safety was not at risk.

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"If she was unsatisfied with Sue's situation, there were plenty of other people in the neighbourhood who could watch her. Zoe seemed really receptive, and I was hopeful that would be the end of her nagging."

When her children broke up for the break, they expressed more excitement for two and a half weeks "with no Sue" than they did for their school holiday over the festive period, reported . The mum shared: "It broke my heart to know that they were more happy to get a break from Sue than school.

"Just a couple of days ago, Zoe reached out to me thanking me for agreeing to watch Sue and asking if I could watch her a couple afternoons a week in addition so Zoe could have some "me" time. I told her this would no longer work – our kids did not mesh well and I didn't want to deal with more inappropriate requests."

Zoe apologised and "begged" her to continue watching Sue, but the woman declined. Despite her husband and kids supporting her decision, she has been left feeling "bad" because Zoe "genuinely" needs help. Now, some of the other mums are labelling the woman "selfish" for refusing to care for Sue.

People shared their opinions in the comments section. One person commented: "You did this to your kids for long enough - now it is time to prioritise THEM for a change." Another commented: "If the [other mums] think Zoe needs help then they should be volunteering because you've done your bit."

A third remarked: "I love how other people are so generous with time that isn't their own". While another individual noted: "Zoe needs to find her own daycare. Parenting is hard and we all could use a break, but the audacity of asking you to take her additionally in the afternoon a couple times for 'me time' as if you aren't dealing with your own kids and hers."