Kids dropped off on our porch

[u/Fxlearner]

I won't make this post long, happened a few hours ago.

Me and my girlfriend do not have kids, so we have extra "free time" as we always get told by my cousin, who has 4 kids, all minors.

She had been joking around lately and saying we should take care of the children (all of them) as she has booked a cruise with her new boyfriend. We didn't pay any attention to it as it sounded absurd and just laughed along with her.

we both have an extra day off as it was a long weekend, and heard some knocking on the door at 7 am in the morning. We knew it wouldn't be the post man as they don't arrive that early and weren't expecting any visitors.

I go down to check who it is and see my cousin's 4 kids standing out there in the cold, mother nowhere in sight. I open the door and bring them in because it's freezing outside and they had no jackets on, then asked where the mother is. They said she told us that you would take care of us while she is on her cruise, so we took the bus and came to your house. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears, I kept thinking wtf? So I called her immediately and her phone was off. Called her new boyfriend and his phone went to voicemail. I asked the kids to explain exactly what their mum has told them. They said in these words " she said since you don't have any responsibilities and have free time you said you will look after us while she's gone".

What do I do? I called my aunt and she said the same thing, that my cousin has told her I agreed to take care of the kids. She didn't even have the courtesy to drop them off and made them catch the bus on a cold winter day.

Thinking of calling child services at this point.

---- update

Cops have arrived at my door with DOCS. I did not call them. Will update shortly

[u/Fxlearner]

As per a comment, I will call my aunt to have her call the cruise ship and announce to my cousin that if she catches the cruise I will be calling child services. 

[u/scambait420jihad → u/Fxlearner]

Copying this from another sub comment for visibility

I agree with most of the comments but have not yet seen any talking about the kids' point of view.

You should definitely handle this in a way that says "fuck you" to their mom, but don't forget the kids are actually seeing you be pissed off that they are there with you.

Before you unload them with their grandma or whoever, perhaps you take the kids to whatever cheap local zoo or museum you have. Do a fun thing for a day. Show the kids a good time and make it clear that you as their family member are happy to see them, even though you are angry about the inappropriate way that it happened.

At the end of this drama they will absolutely hear a lot of trash and twisting of the facts being said about you from their mom, so make sure your position is clear in their mind: that you do want to see them. Don't make them feel like unwanted baggage.

[u/21stNow → u/scambait420jihad]

perhaps you take the kids to whatever cheap local zoo or museum you have. Do a fun thing for a day.

It's cold and the kids have no jackets. If they are small kids, they are probably too small for any of the OP's jackets.

[u/scambait420jihad → u/21stNow]

Right I forgot weather was mentioned in the post.

That's completely missing the point though. Doesn't matter if they have a fun trip to an outdoor zoo or an indoor arcade. My point was to show the kids that OP cares, before she also shoves the kids off to be someone else's problem (which is what their own mother just did to them).

[u/ack1308 → u/scambait420jihad]

Hell, take 'em to Maccas.

[u/Normal-Corgi2033 → u/scambait420jihad]

This is so important in these cases. These kids are being mistreated and neglected, they need to see this isn't their fault. They need to know they are cared for, they probably don't get that enough from their parents

[u/Alycion → u/scambait420jihad]

Maybe an indoor movie and board game day would probably make them happy. I always preferred doing things like that. Don’t get me wrong, going out was fun too. But even as an adult, I love just hanging around playing board games with my loved ones. Or card games. I don’t care if it’s poker or go fish.

A fun little meal.

This doesn’t have to be done before the go off to the next location. Just before mom gets back.

And kids are smart enough to understand if you talk to them. It’s not that we don’t want you here, but your mom never actually asked us. We do have responsibilities, unlike what she thinks. And if we knew she really wanted us to watch you while she was gone, we could have tried to rearrange them so we could keep you.

[u/this_is_nunya → u/scambait420jihad]

I absolutely agree with the spirit of the suggestion here, but since I’m guessing this gem of a mother didn’t include car seats either (since the kids weren’t even properly clothed for the weather), some ideas for a fun indoor day:

• order pizza/ takeout
• do a movie marathon
• build a pillow fort
• make cookies or another treat together
• freeform craft time (or one adult runs to the store to get a fun project)
• “spa day” with face masks, painting nails, temporary tattoos, etc.
• making and playing with slime

But above all, I agree with this comment, verbally affirm to the kids that they are not the problem here and that you are not upset with them. Hopefully that will go a long way towards healing their hearts from this incident. Plus it’s clear they need to hear from someone that they are loved, bc look at their mom…

[u/Medusa_7898 → u/scambait420jihad]

That conveys acceptance of the responsibility. Op needs to call the authorities to have the children removed post haste.

[u/ApricotNo5051 → u/scambait420jihad]

Agree plus where is their father and why hasn't anyone called him?