Woman Wants To Know If Making Her Freeloading Sister Watch Over Her Baby Just This One Time Was An A-hole Move
Having a family member watch over your child isn't just beneficial for you. It's a great way to strengthen the relationship between your child and your family members or in-laws.
But parents should only ask their relatives and family members when they're free. After all, they're adults with real-life responsibilities too.
Remember that as a parent, you mainly have to watch over your little ones. Sure, there are daycare centers to help you out, but ultimately, the responsibility of ensuring your child's safety and well-being falls on your shoulders.
Sometimes, emergencies come up, and parents need to ask someone to watch over their child. It's completely understandable, and in those cases, reaching out to a family member for help with childcare can be a lifesaver.
Today's story is about a woman who asked her sister to watch over her one-year-old son as she suddenly had to go to work. But the 18-year-old college student refused and told the older sister that she wanted to use the time to study.
The original poster (OP) notes that she financially supports her younger sister. The college student pays no rent and doesn't have a job.
The OP has never asked her younger sister to watch over her baby. She mentions that this was the only time she did.
Since the younger sister continues to refuse, the OP pressures her sister by telling her that she'll have to leave the house and return to their parents. The younger sister relented and agreed to care for the kid.
But when she arrived at work, her parents bombarded her with messages, saying she was abusing her power. So the OP asked the "Am I The A**hole?" (AITA) subreddit if it was wrong to force her sister to care for her son.
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The OP shared a
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The OP lives with her fiancé, son, and her younger sister.
Although her sister is already an adult, she still supports her financially.
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The OP needed to report to work on a weekend so she asked her younger sister to watch over her baby.
This was the first time she asked this kind of favor, but the younger sister refused.
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The OP made her sister care for her baby by pressuring her.
It did not end well. Her parents told her off, saying she's abusing her power.
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While it's true that it's the responsibility of a parent to look for a babysitter, Redditors feel that the OP's request wasn't unreasonable, considering that the younger sister isn't contributing anything to this home.
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The OP is not taking advantage of her sister. It's the other way around.
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Caring for the baby was the least the young sister could do for the OP.
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Looks like the parents have a favorite child.
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The OP can shut the parents down by saying the same thing back at them.
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The younger sister really needs to help while she's staying in the OP's home.
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Helping out with chores is already a good contribution to the family.
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It was an emergency. The younger sister should've just willingly help.
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It's either the younger sister leaves or she does some chores around the house.
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Indeed the younger sister doesn't have any responsibility toward her nephew. But this was an emergency.
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The OP's parents and her sister are giving her the bad treatment, then it's better for the sister to return home.
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The younger sister shouldn't be talking about responsibility. After all, she fails at being a responsible family member.
The younger sister can always get a part-time job.
The OP's request isn't outrageous, especially since the younger sister has no contributions to this household.
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The younger sister can just watch over the kid while she's studying.
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With that attitude, the younger sister needs to be shipped back home.
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How the OP should respond to her parents.
If the OP is looking for a simple response to the freeloading sister and her parents, she can simply say, "look who's talking." They're not walking the talk, anyway.
Before these people preach about responsibility, they need to start looking at themselves in the mirror. And it's probably better for the younger sister to return to her parents.
