Entitled stepmom expects 18-year-old grieving daughter to babysit her stepbrother during her father's funeral, daughter refuses: ‘"You lost a husband of five years. I lost the man who raised me my entire life"’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Apr 10, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Attending a parent's funeral before you make it into your 20s is rough as it is. You thought you'd have more time—more memories to make—with your late mother or father. Every decision in your life up until that point weighs several tons on your heart, and you're left wondering if you could ever make life feel normal again without their presence. This is the grieving process, and it's important to face it head-on.

In the middle of your grieving thoughts, you hear a buzz. This buzz then becomes a voice, and you wonder if you've, too, met your maker. But no, it's just your stepmother—whom you don't even like because of her entitled ways—asking you to watch your nine-year-old stepbrother at your own father's funeral. As if the gods gave you a reason to cut the woman who you intended to cut off anyway out of your life, you realize just how much she doesn't care about your feelings. The 18-year-old grieving daughter in this story gives her stepmom a piece of her mind when she is expected to play nanny at her late dad's funeral. Scroll to see how the situation unfolds.

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  • Grief is a funny thing. Of course, when you first hear the news of a loved one's passing, especially someone as close to you as your parent, the initial shock prevents you from feeling everything completely. Then, the funeral feels like a sick reprise of what you've tried so hard to repress… but it's necessary. To grieve is to love. The daughter in this story explains that she was trying to put on a brave face for the public, but her stepmom turned her grief to rage.

  • Cheezburger Image 10491718656
    via Pablo Merchán Montes For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITA for refusing to ‘babysit’ my stepbrother during my dad’s funeral?"

    I (18F) lost my dad three weeks ago. He was my best friend, my safe place, and honestly the only parent who really got me. My mom and I are... strained, and she divorced him when I was 10.
    via RileyZane2007
  • He remarried when I was 13, and his wife "Stacy" (40sF) came with her own son, Adam (9M now).To be real, I never bonded with them. Stacy always treated
    via RileyZane2007
  • me like a guest in my own dad's house, and Adam was a spoiled little tornado. My dad tried to make it work, but I mostly avoided going over once I hit 16. We were closer one-on-one anyway.
    via RileyZane2007
  • Fast forward to the funeral. I was wrecked. I'd spent the night before writing a eulogy and crying my eyes out. I was trying to hold it together in black heels and waterproof mascara. Then
    via RileyZane2007
  • Stacy pulls me aside literally 15 minutes before the service starts and says: "Hey, could you just keep an eye on Adam? He's having a hard time and I want to
    via RileyZane2007
  • be able to focus on greeting people."I thought she was joking. But no. She wanted me — the daughter of the de d man - to babysit her son so she could socialize like it was some brunch event.
    via RileyZane2007
  • I said no. Politely at first. Then more firmly when she pushed. She got huffy and whispered, "You know, you're not the only one who lost someone."I snapped. I said, "You lost a
    via RileyZane2007
  • husband of five years. I lost the man who raised me my entire life. You do the math."She gasped like I slapped her and stormed off.
    via RileyZane2007
  • Cheezburger Image 10491721216
    via Kateryna Hliznitsova For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Later, at the reception, she told my mom and other relatives what I said, and now half the family is calling me "selfish" and "immature." My aunt even said I
    via RileyZane2007
  • "traumatized Adam" because apparently he overheard us and cried.I feel bad for the kid, I do. But I was grieving too. I didn't think it was my job to parent her child when I was barely keeping it together myself. So... AITA?
    via RileyZane2007
  • Select_Insect_4450 You're not the a h le. There was aunts and uncles. When we were kids we pretty much grouped up with cousins at funerals. It would be a different if she asked you to watch him while she went to the bathroom or something maybe even a group deciding to take shifts. Saying watch him while I am at the greeting line for 2 hours no that's unreasonable. She should have had a sitter for him if that much of a pain in the a
    via Select_Insect_4450
  • Jealous-Ad-8100 Ntah that's your father. That is the person who brought you into this earth, if you have anyday that no one should ask you for a thing it's that day, May he rest in paradise and keep watching over you. Sleep making him proud
    via Jealous-Ad-8100
  • trinityeglover Op, I just want to say how incredibly sorry I am for your loss. Losing a parent is tough, I lost my mom in 2022. You are 1000x NTA. She was out of line asking you to babysit for your father's funeral. If the child isn't able to sit through the wake/funeral and has to be "watched," then she should have brought help or hired so.eone to keep him home. Again, my deepest condolences
    via trinityeglover
  • Embarrassed_Hat_2904 How was anything you said traumatizing to Adam? There was nothing you said that was about him or mean to him to make him cry.
    via Embarrassed_Hat_2904
  • Lovebug-1055 Don't worry, she was totally out of line. She should have brought a babysitter! Tell your aunt that this is none of her business.
    via Lovebug-1055
  • Square-Minimum-6042 Think of the bright side. You never have to see her or her brat again.
    via Square-Minimum-6042
  • avid-learner-bot NTA... that s 's some next-level entitlement right there. Your stepmother expecting you to babysit while trying to grieve in peace is unfathomable! What if she asked for groceries too? Dishes washed? You stood your ground and set boundaries, a key life skill nobody can take away, imagine the extra emotional whiplash with her ridiculous demands
    via avid-learner-bot
  • Eemeraldskye Honestly, it's wild that she even thought that was okay. Like, you're grieving your dad and she expects u to look after her kid? That's just selfish. I get it's hard for Adam, but like, it's YOUR dad's funeral, and she should've been more understanding. You weren't being selfish, just protecting yourself from more emotional strain.
    via Eemeraldskye

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family drama stepmother aita entitled parents stepmom reddit story family feud funeral fatherdaughter grief entitled family reddit thread daughter Reddit entitled people Father
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