Teen Applauded for Telling Woman on Bus Her 'Baby' Is Waste of Space

A woman has been praised for telling a supposed mother that her "baby" was a waste of space.

In a viral post shared on Reddit's Am I The A**hole group, which can be seen here, user addict_ed_7 explained she needed to take her baby sister to the doctor after she became ill.

The 19-year-old said her 11-month-old sibling likely had a common cold, but she was worried and asked their mother if she could take her sister to the doctor.

She said: "That day the bus was unusually cramped, full of people standing as well as a woman in a wheelchair, two old ladies with walkers and two strollers.

"So, I could barely fit with my baby sister in her stroller. I asked one of the women with a stroller if she could move a bit and make space, as a response she just rolled her eyes.

"I asked her again and she just told me to wait for the next bus, which takes about 15 minutes, as her baby needs the space. Well, I look at the 'baby' and it's a doll. A very realistic-looking one, but still a doll. I got very angry at that point and told her that my baby is sick and needs to go to the doctor and she just ignored me.

"So, I kind of lashed out and told and told her that her fake baby is a waste of space that other people with real babies or wheelchairs could need. The lady got really offended, insulted me under her breath and finally moved. Quite a few people looked at me angrily."

The user said she understood why some people choose to have realistic dolls, such as when dealing with grief, but she still bemoaned why anyone would bring them onto public transportation where space is limited.

She continued: "She could have been taking the space from a disabled person when she has the option not to. Still, since a lot of people judged me, I'm wondering if I was in the wrong."

The post has since racked up more than 7,000 upvotes and another 696 comments. Many of those praised the Reddit user for taking a stand.

One Reddit user, whose comment was upvoted 12,000 times, said: "NTA [not the a**hole]. I think this is one of the weirdest things I've read on here. Even if the doll is for grief-related purpose. You could have handled it better but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have."

Another added: "I can guarantee the funny-looking people were thinking OP [original poster] was the parent to the child. Still happens to this day where young/ teen parents are looked down upon."

A third posted: "Super duper uber weird."

While it was unclear why the woman chose to have a realistic doll with her, some people have bought them in order to cope with losing a real baby.

There are numerous websites that sell so-called reborn dolls that are made to look like a real human child.

According to the U.K.-based Reborn Baby website, prices for the dolls can vary from £300 to £2,000 ($351 to $2,341) depending on the doll.

Newsweekhas contacted addict_ed_7 for comment.