Teenager Expected to Be a Free Babysitter for Her Nephew Every Summer Break, She Puts Her Foot Down When Family Starts Treating Her Like a Servant

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Sep 4, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen of the internet. There are two types of teenagers: the studious one, who's focused on which college they'll go to, and makes school a priority, and the teenager that's smoking cigarettes in the bathroom to ditch class. When you find a teenager that's mature, responsible, and studious, it's a crime to take away their opportunity to excel. 

In this Reddit story, the original poster (OP) is a teenager who comes home on her summer breaks, in which her older sister expects her to be a free babysitter for her kid. In a way, it makes sense. The mom is busy at work, trying to support herself and the baby, making money. But on the other side, it's robbing this youth of their summer, and not even letting them work and save money. I always had a job as a teen, it's important to learn discipline and money management from a young age. Read the full story to see how it ends. 

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  • 01
    r/AITAH 10 mo. ago Grand Sector4130 AITAH for not wanting to constantly babysit my nephew for free?
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 02
    My sister (19F) had my nephew (3M) what she was 16 years old. We were living on opposite side of the country at the time due to us each living with a different parent, but when she came to visit for the first time after getting pregnant, she basically treated me like a servant. She was
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 03
    constantly using her pregnancy as an excuse not to go anywhere and she always had something negative to say about how I did a certain thing. Mind you, I was a freshman in high school and had been taking many AP/Advanced classes, so during this time I was super busy with assignments. I figured she would be better after
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 04
    she had the baby, and she would stop expecting everyone to cater to her.
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 05
    Fast forward to over a year later and I'm visiting my hometown for the summer for the first time in years. I was planning on getting a summer job, but my sister had offered to pay me $20 a day to watch my nephew. I thought it would be to hard as I knew she was having trouble finding a
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 06
    babysitter. Fast forward to when she gets her first paycheck two weeks later, and she owes me $200 as I had watched her kid for 10 days out of the last few weeks. She tells me she can't afford to pay me at the moment. I told her it was fine, but I was going to get a job because that was my
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 07
    original plan. I obviously didn't drive at the time, due to me only being 15, and my Grandmother told me that if I got a different job she would not be giving me rides for the rest of the summer and that my sister would pay me when she had the right money. Fast forward to the end of
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 08
    summer, I have watched my nephew 5 days a week for six weeks and I have yet to be paid. The day that I am to board my plane, my sister gives me $40 dollars out of her paycheck and tells me that I won't be getting anymore as that is all she is willing to give up at the moment.
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 09
    I arrive home to my mother being furious and cussing out my grandmother and sister after I had told her on my layover that I had only been paid $40. There was no change.
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 10
    Now fast forward to this summer, I decided to willing babysit my nephew for free over the summer so my mom could have him and she's too busy to watch him all the time and we're not in the financial state to hire a true babysitter. The summer ends and I move to my hometown for
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 11
    college and go to bring my nephew home. I figured everything had changed and maybe my sister had found a better babysitting solution. She has not. My grandmother watches him, and if she is unable to, she now expects me to cancel my plans whether it be work or
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 12
    personal, to babysit him. I have. been doing it for 3 months now but a few days ago I informed my sister and my grandmother that I will no longer be watching him as I did not have a kid, and therefore should not be expected to put my life on hold for someone's else's, especially for free. I have applied to a college around 45 minutes
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 13
    away from my sisters house and she's furious, saying that since I don't have a car, I will be unable to help her. For anyone wondering, I work a job that only pays $12 and hours with only around 22 hours a week. My sister works a full time job getting well over 40 hours a week at $19 an hour. We split all cost of utilities
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 14
    and rent and food is also a split cost. She expects me to be the only one to clean the house, honestly I'm exhausted. I have told her multiple times that I don't want to watch him and she and my grandmother get angry at me every time. So, AITA?
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 15
    A lot of people are asking the same same two questions, so here's the answers: 1. Her child's father is in his life, but only when he feels it is convenient. He also is on disability and she has been advised not to seek out child support.
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 16
    2. I originally moved here to stay with my father to save on money, but there was a problem and he and I had to move elsewhere. I did not willing choose to live with my sister, but she is surprisingly the best option I have at the moment, seeing as my mother lives around
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 17
    as my mother lives around 2,500 miles away from me.
    via u/Grand Sector4130
  • 18
    LuLouProper • 10mo ago NTA. Tell them the babysitting rate is $25/hour, and you won't start until they've paid up the back money due, in cash.
    via u/LuLouProper
  • 19
    OkBalance2879 • 10mo ago NTA EXCEPT to YOURSELF! I strongly suggest you find a college closer to your mum's and go LC/NC with your delightful sister and grandmother.
    via u/OkBalance2879
  • 20
    Realistic_Head4... • 10mo ago NTA. You are the family slave. Time to figure out a way not to live with people who take advantage of you.
    via u/Realistic_Head4
  • 21
    newprairiegirl • 10mo ago You are paying half the bills, it could be cheaper for you to live closer to the school instead of being treated like a servant. And probably a whole lot more fun.
    via u/newprairiegirl
  • 22
    Either finish out your semester and transfer to a school closer to your mom, or move closer to your current school.
    via u/newprairiegirl
  • 23
    She should be filing for child support, you say she was advised not to, by who? Child support should always be filed, what if he gets an inheritance in the future? Your sister is missing out on that. And so what if the dad is disabled, he should be the
    via u/newprairiegirl
  • 24
    number one call when sis needs back up child care, he can make a baby, he can look after the baby.
    via u/newprairiegirl

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