Mother refuses to force her son to pick up and drop off his stepsister at camp after her ex-husband insists he do so: 'He told me as a mom I should want our son to be kind'

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jul 2, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Parenting 101: Have your child's back when others try to force them into doing things they don't want to do. Of course, there are exceptions to this "rule," but it's important to show your child that you're hearing them and respecting their boundaries. If you don't, you might risk losing contact with them some time down the line, then read a Reddit post that sounds eerily similar to your now-estranged son… This scenario has to have happened at least once. Reddit: Connecting estranged family members since 2005!

The situation in this next story is pretty simple, but a certain ex-husband refuses to take no for an answer, which results in a family feud between step-siblings and ex-lovers.

If your child doesn't want to do their step-sibling any favors, do you have the right to tell them otherwise? Speaking plainly, yes—but why would you want to force them into anything if there's an alternative solution? I mean, it's better to figure out some other way to remedy a situation than to risk crossing your child's boundaries, repeatedly, until they no longer see you as an ally. Scroll below to see how a mother has her child's back, no matter how big or small the situation may be.

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  • "My ex had nothing to do with buying or paying for the car..."
    via Art Markiv for Unsplash

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

  • "AITA for not making my son drop his stepsister off at camp when he drops his sister off?"

    I (36f) have two kids (17m and 14f) with my ex. He's remarried and he has a stepdaughter (14f) and his wife's nephew (15m) is
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  • living with them. Custody is 50- 50 and my son is the only kid in the household who drives. So my ex started to require that our son
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  • drive his sister and stepsister to camp since he uses their car occasionally. Now this
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  • expectation has been set for when he's with me too, since he has his own car at my house.
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  • My son doesn't want to drop his stepsister off at summer camp and so far hasn't been when he's with me. This is driving my ex
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  • mad because my daughter goes to the same camp and he drops her off and they go eat breakfast at a diner close by on those days.
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  • My ex said it would be nothing to include his stepdaughter. He told me I should insist on our son doing it because it's just good
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  • manners and it's important to teach him that all family should be treated equally.
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    via Cătălin Dumitrașcu for Unsplash

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

  • I have refused to make our son drop his stepsister off at camp and my ex has started sending angry texts over it. He told me as
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  • a mom I should want our son to be kind and helpful to his family and look at how I'm failing in this regard. He said he shouldn't get
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  • the privilege of a car if he doesn't want to help his family. My ex had nothing to do with buying or paying for the car so I don't feel like that's his decision.
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  • But AITA for not asking/making my son do this?
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  • fiestafan73 "Reminder: we are no longer married and you do not get to assign the chores in my household. This subject is closed." NTA.
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  • MiseryKD NTA. But if your ex wants his son to have low to no contact with him when he turns 18, by all means he should keep pushing him.
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  • hiraeth_stars NTA His stepsister is not his responsibility, if he doesn't want to drive her around, he shouldn't have to. Your ex can set rules and chores at his home, not yours.
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  • TemporaryOwlet Mmmm, no. It seems that he isn't just dropping her off. He spends quality time with his sister. No way I will interfere with anything that helps my kids to bond. Their good relationship is more important than my exes. comfort. NTA
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  • avid-learner-bot NTA, your ex is pushing way too hard on something that's not your call to make and sounds like it's coming from a place of control more than care, maybe set some clear limits with him about what's fair and keep things calm to avoid further drama, what happens if he keeps up the pressure?
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  • StandingGoat NTA - has your ex tried any form of incentivization, like gas money? Have you asked your son why he apparently doesn't get on with his step sister? In any case your ex can't control your son when he's not in his custody and it's not his car.
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family dynamics family drama entitled parents entitlement reddit story family feud parenting entitled family reddit thread parent Reddit Parenting Fail parents entitled people Parenting FAILS
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