“Once my 18th birthday comes she won’t even be my family anymore”: 16-year-old refuses to babysit for mom and her bf, she gets offended when he prefers staying with his father

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Jul 11, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen of the internet. As uncomfortable as it may be to admit, we all have a favorite parent, a favorite friend, and a favorite sibling. Maybe these "favorites" of ours move around like the ocean's tides, they're not steady, and if Aunt Suzie is our favorite relative one day, Grandpa Jones could replace her tomorrow. I know that for myself I often go through cycles of enjoying one friend's time more than another. Sometimes I want the chaos and low commitment of one friend, the wild card friend who I know will stay up late with me, going out, drinking, and just making nihilistic jokes that no one has to take seriously. And then sometimes I prefer the down-to-earth friend, the one who I can just lock eyes with and talk about the deeper things in life, have a poetic discussion, talk about the magic of life, love, or anything else going on. 

In the story below, the protagonist is a teenager whose parents are divorced. It's not all the time, but divorced parents usually means that the child has chosen a parent to be the "one." Read the full story below for all the juicy details. 

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  • 01

    AITA for not babysitting so my mom can go on dates with her fiancé?

    Cheezburger Image 10527625216
    via Kindel Media from Pexels / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My parents divorced when I (16m) was 1 and I live with my dad and see my mom every other weekend. Why? She moved too far for them to share me equally
    via u/GaggySage
  • 03
    so dad got custody since he was settled and wasn't moving for unstable reasons. Mom followed a guy to another town, a guy she
    via u/GaggySage
  • 04
    wasn't even dating seriously or long, and she moved again before I was 5 for another guy.
    via u/GaggySage
  • 05
    My relationship with mom is kinda strained. Sometimes she makes an effort to actually be a mom other than every other week but it feels
    via u/GaggySage
  • 06
    like she never cared as much about me as she did the guys she's dated. Some of those guys I stayed with when I'd go to mom's
    via u/GaggySage
  • 07
    Definition of divorce Eng Divorce The le nt body.
    via Kameleon007 from Getty Images Signature / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    for a weekend. Others I never met but she talked about them all the time.
    via u/GaggySage
  • 09
    Four years ago she started seeing this guy called Clay and now they're engaged and living together. When I spend weekends at my mom's house I sleep in the
    via u/GaggySage
  • 10
    basement on the couch because Clay's got four kids and I didn't want to share a room with his sons who're really young. It bothers my mom and Clay that I
    via u/GaggySage
  • 11
    wasn't more open to being a part of the family and mom and I fight about it at least once every two or three months when I'm there. She
    via u/GaggySage
  • 12
    doesn't get why I'm not more invested. I refuse to spell it out for her.
    via u/GaggySage
  • 13
    Now we're fighting about babysitting. Since her and Clay live together now they feel like I should babysit so they can go on dates and I refuse. Doesn't matter
    via u/GaggySage
  • 14
    if I'm there or with dad, she expects any weekend they want to do something that I will drop. whatever and babysit. When I'm at her house I avoid it by staying
    via u/GaggySage
  • 15
    out late by exploring where she lives and going to the gaming store for hours to look around. When I'm with dad it's easier to just say no way and she can't
    via u/GaggySage
  • 16
    make dad send me over to her to babysit. And it him off that she expects me to drive almost 3 hours each way to babysit for her whenever she feels like it.
    via u/GaggySage
  • 17
    Бабах! Бабах Ада и ещё ямки -ямка, яма и ещё ямища. А грузовик повернул в сторону и объехал ямы. А прицеп Бабах! Бабах! Едет грузовик по ровной дороге, и прицел за ним едет легко и ровно Едут они, едут. А на дороге. Бабах! Бабах! Бабах! Inined Entes! AND ANLOT'S
    via Lina Kivaka from Pexels / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 18
    My mom said I need to accept that Clay and his kids are going to be my family and I should try to get to know them. She doesn't
    via u/GaggySage
  • 19
    realize once my 18th birthday comes she won't even be my family anymore and I plan to go NC. AITA?
    via u/GaggySage
  • 20
    TarzanKitty ⚫ 6h ago ΝΤΑ Tell your mom that Clay is the person here responsible for childcare. He is nothing to you and you owe him
    via u/TarzanKitty
  • 21
    to you and you owe him nothing. If Clay wants to go on dates. He should look into Care dot com.
    via u/TarzanKitty
  • 22
    MyMumBoughtMe... 6h ago NTA, You're 16 and not a live-in nanny, Babysitting her fiancé's kids is not your responsibility, and its
    via u/MyMumBoughtMeThis
  • 23
    especially entitled for her to expect you to travel 3 hours for it. Your time and your consent and your role as her son, not her unpaid helper, matter.
    via u/MyMumBoughtMeThis
  • 24
    She's confusing you being her child with you being part of the life she's building now, but she hasn't done the work to earn that relationship,
    via u/MyMumBoughtMeThis
  • 25
    she's trying to force closenesss through obligation rather than build it through trust, effort and care.
    via u/MyMumBoughtMeThis

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family drama drama toxic family feud relationships lol love entitled family reddit thread Reddit funny dating
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