An Uncle Went Above & Beyond To Avoid Babysitting His Sister's Triplets But His Family Is Not Happy
No one should be forced to take care of kids that aren't theirs.
fizkes / Shutterstock via Canva A 23-year-old uncle turned to Reddit asking for advice on whether or not he was in the wrong for refusing to babysit his three nephews during a family vacation.
In the "r/AmITheA–hole" subreddit – a forum where anonymous users ask and receive judgment on interpersonal conflicts in their lives – the user states that he is often “stuck playing the part of helper and babysitter on family outings.”
The user informed Redditors that he had to move out because he was "forced to help watch my three nephews." He prefaced that “last year we took a family vacation in summer to the coast. I rode along with my parents, and they paid for my hotel room. Only, I had to share that room with three rowdy boys because my sister and her husband wanted a room to themselves.”
The user adds that despite being promised to have time to himself during the trip, he was yet again prompted to help watch over his sister’s children and reminded by his family that he was there for free.
This year, the 23-year-old decided to turn things around for himself by carrying his own weight.
“I’d be driving myself and paying for my own hotel stay to have my own room,” he explained to his parents, but they weren’t exactly on board with the idea.
“My parents told my sister, and she called to blow up at me that I’ll be ruining the vacation if I’m off doing my own thing while she has to wrangle her three boys. I ended up yelling at her that last year all she did was rope me into her mess. I didn't really get to do much of anything I wanted to do. And I was treated like the bad guy for wanting to just go to an art gallery. I'm a grown man. I deserve my own vacation too.”
After the phone call, his sister stopped speaking to him and his parents have been trying to convince their son to “just ride with them to keep the peace.” Instead, the 23-year-old stood his ground despite the pressure weighing in on him to give in.
An hour after posting, the user received a variety of responses assuring the young uncle that he was not the a–hole.
One user replied, “That’s a laugh. She’s admitting she’s ruining your vacation so as not to ruin her own! They’re her kids and her responsibility,” and further adds that he is “NTA. In fact, you’re nicer than I would be; I’d just say ‘no thanks; I’ve got other plans’ and avoid the family vacation altogether.”
“I absolutely understand wanting a kid-free vacation,” read another comment. “But I don’t understand roping some unsuspecting relative into watching said kids for free during what is also supposedly that person’s vacation too.”
Photo: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A / Shutterstock
When his sister got a hold of the post and noticed that none of the comments had sided with her – things got more complicated.
“To make it short, she went on a big rant about how it's so hard to be a parent to triplets. And the least I could do is help because I'm young and single, and she needs a break. I stood my ground on my decision, and now she's calling our parents to get them involved,” the user wrote.
The user eventually gave updates on the situation explaining how his sister shared the post with their parents who were “horrified by the continuous influx of commenters” surrounding the topic, and consequently shut down the entire vacation. “My parents are arguing with my sister, my sister is blaming me, and my nephews are crying because they aren’t going to the beach.”
Photo: u/No-Ride-Throwaway / Reddit
Redditors sided with the 23-year-old uncle, stating that he is not obligated to take care of children that aren’t his.
“Sounds like they truly aren't appreciating all that OP has done for them and take him for granted. That's why he's stuck with the triplets the entire trip and not even given his own room,” a user pointed out.
Another commenter even addressed their response to said sister. “You are not entitled to your brother’s time. You chose to have kids. Yes, they’re a ton of work. That is your issue, not his.”
In the end, it’s safe to say that he won’t be babysitting any more kids for a while.
Xiomara Demarchi is a writer based in New York on YourTango’s news and entertainment team covering human interest topics.