Teen Rebels Against Stepmom’s Scheme To Saddle Her With Triplet Toddlers, Threatens To Change Custody Arrangement

“I’d rather leave my dad’s house than share my room with toddlers.”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• January 16, 2024

One of the trickiest parts of divorce was custody arrangements, but our narrator’s (Original Poster’s) parents seemed to handle this quite amicably.

They split up before she was born, and her dad was her primary guardian. Though OP’s mom had her every other weekend, he gave her the go-ahead to visit her mom as much as she wanted.

This arrangement progressed seamlessly for years. However, her dad’s engagement to his new love interest threatened to shake things up for good.

Hanna was a widow with a lively bunch of kids—a 9-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a set of 2-year-old triplets. With her dad’s three-bedroom residence, you can see how this posed a problem.

After some deliberation and without OP’s input, the new couple announced they arrived at the perfect solution. OP would be sharing a room with the triplets while her other kids got a room each to themselves.

OP's jaw could’ve dropped to the floor because this didn’t make any sense. She calmly questioned the logic behind the decision and was met with a more perplexing answer—her room was the biggest, and she “didn’t stay there full time.”

Just because she wasn’t around four days in a month didn’t mean they got to bunk her with toddlers! She proposed switching to the smallest room, but even this was shot down immediately.

When OP finally threatened to move in primarily with her mom, Hanna burst into tears; OP’s dad wasn’t pleased about this.

As a 16-year-old, OP believed she deserved some personal space. Was she wrong for asserting her right?

Let’s dig into the details

A bit of background

OP was livid with the room arrangement and even suggested changing the custody arrangement to allow her live with her mom instead

This suggestion made OP’s stepmom cry, as she was eager for the family to blend seamlessly

Here’s how the Reddit community reacted to this story:

“NTA. You sharing with the triplets makes you care for them at night and as soon as their bed time begins.“

“ Hannah thinks the best way for her ‘family’ to ‘blend together nicely’ is to instantly make her step-daughter the free babysitter for her 3 Toddlers??”

“ This room arrangement is insane. How will you get any quiet and privacy for studying? What about privacy during your menses?”

“NTA. Those little kids will be into all your stuff and drive you bonkers.“

“ NTA go stay with your mom, they've made it clear where you fall in the family order.”

First update

Second update

well, this was an interesting story. Redditors agreed it was a ridiculous arrangement.

They believed her dad was only desperate to please Hanna, and the favoritism was glaring. Regrettably, OP's dad stuck to the controversial plan, leaving her with no alternative but to tweak the custody setup. 

Bracing herself for a few days on her dad's couch each month, she’s counting down until she can spread her wings and move out.

What do you think about this story? Share your thoughts with us. 

Jesse