Mother Expects Teen Daughter To Sleep Outside In Tent Over Christmas Due To Lack Of Space In The Family Home
She claims that there aren't enough air mattresses or space.
Ground Picture / Shutterstock With the holidays quickly approaching, many people are preparing to travel and see family for gatherings.
Some families are expecting a completely full house, which means not everyone will be promised their own bedroom and will have to settle for an air mattress in the living room.
However, one teenager certainly did not expect the sleeping arrangement her mother has planned for her when she comes to visit for the holidays.
The teenager’s mother wants her to sleep in the backyard in a tent due to limited space in her house.
Posting her story on the subreddit, "r/AmItheA-–hole," the teenager asked other Redditors if she was wrong for protesting her mother’s arrangement for her to sleep outside, causing a rift between her and her siblings.
The 18-year-old teenager began her post by sharing that she is the youngest of four, with a 31-year-old brother, a 28-year-old sister, and a 25-year-old brother.
She explains that she and her siblings were raised by their father and their stepmother since their biological mother and her husband live in Western Europe.
The teenager revealed that her mother asked her and her siblings to spend Christmas at her house with her family.
“[She] has offered to pay for our transport and visas,” the teenager wrote.
Since her siblings are all married with children, the house was sure to be cramped, but the teenager’s mother ensured each of her guests that they will have proper sleeping arrangements.
“She said she'll spread out air mattresses in the living room and there's a guest room,” the teenager wrote. “She didn't say anything specifically to me about where I'd be sleeping so I assumed I'd be sleeping on one of the air mattresses.”
However, the teenager’s brother informed her of a different sleeping arrangement their mother had in mind for her.
“One of my brothers told me that my mom expects me to sleep in a tent outside,” the teenager shared. “I honestly thought he was messing with me but when I asked my mom about it it turns out she did.”
The teenager’s mother believed that she would like to have her own space and tent outside, but she didn't want to sleep outside in the frigid temperatures.
When she asked her mother if she could sleep on the living room couch instead, her mother refused, telling her that her husband likes to watch TV in the living room late at night and that her daughter would be a “nuisance.”
The teenager's refusal to sleep outside caused a rift between her and her siblings.
The teenager informed her mother that if she had to sleep outside, she would not be coming at all.
That conversation caused a rift between her and her siblings.
“They said I'm being selfish and making a fuss about nothing, and that I can't expect any of them to sleep outside with their spouses or kids,” the teen wrote.
Additionally, she informed her father about the situation and stated that he was “royally pissed off” at her mother and accused her of “alienating” her youngest daughter from the rest of the family.
The teenager’s parents wound up arguing about it over the phone, which caused her siblings to grow even more upset with her.
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Many Redditors supported the teenager and criticized her mother’s inconsiderate decision.
“The fact that your step-dad wanting to watch tv at night is more important than you being able to sleep inside tells you exactly where you stand in your mother’s priority list,” one user pointed out.
“If anyone is going to sleep outside it should be a couple vs a single female. Body heat for one and just general safety in numbers for two,” another user shared.
“I'd just stay with your dad and tell all of them the decision is made and not to talk to you about it again. Don't respond to their texts on the topic and don't answer their calls,” another user recommended.
“And, OP's [original poster] siblings sound like they take after their mother. They think it is unreasonable for them to sleep outside, in the snow, but it's fine for OP [original poster]?” another user wrote. “I hope that you have a great Christmas with your dad.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.