'I do not want to babysit every day': Uncle roped into babysitting a 3 and 1-year-old because parents would rather live childfree; stirs parenting debate when he refuses

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 30, 2026 2:00 PM EDT

It's not fun being a parent 24/7, and yet, that's what it takes. 

Aunts and uncles, however, are privy to a special loophole that allows them to temporarily be parents: babysitting! However, this uncle wondered how he would get himself out of the infinite babysitting loop, reaching out on the popular Reddit subforum called, r/AITApod to lament over babysitting duties that went too far. 

Knowing that his brother wasn't exactly the nurturing type, this man knew that when he became an uncle that came with a certain amount of responsibilities. He loves his niece and nephew, don't get me wrong, but he never technically signed up to be there fulltime parent, especially when they had two perfectly capable parents in the wings. 

Whenever Mom and Dad got tired of arguing, they would drop the kids off at their uncle's house, assuming he'd be there to pick up the slack. 

Well, one day, he decided he was tired of being their daily babysitting backup. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10634161664
    via Pexels (Helena Lopez)

    A man struggling to hold a baby, as depicted by a model. 

  • AITA for not wanting to babysit My brother brings my niece and nephew almost every day 3 and 1 because they have plans
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  • almost every day parties, shopping and his wife gets upset when I can not watch them it gets really exhausting to watch both of them I do like taking care of them.
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  • His wife is constantly going out with her friends or just going shopping and my brother at the same time does not want to watch
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  • Cheezburger Image 10634161408
    via Pexels (Helena Lopez)

    Fictional toddler playing with a phone in the living room. 

  • them. There has been times where I have talked with them about it but it feels as if nothing really changes. I have gotten in a couple of
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  • Once someone starts to resent the babysitting process, it stops being fun. 

    The best part about being an aunt or uncle is that you get to microexperience the joys of parenthood, like pride, love, and caring for a small thing, without all of the pressure of doing it all the time. Understandably, that pressure, when mounted on top of never actually choosing to be a parent yourself, can make any sane person lose their noodle a little bit.. And most importantly, it can make them resent the people resposnible: like this brother and sister-in-law. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10634162176
    via Pexels (Helena Lopez)

    Male model depicting an uncle holding his nephew in the kitchen on a babysitting day. 

  • fights with his wife too for not letting her know that I am not home because at the same time they never call to tell me they are bringing both of them.
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  • The lack of clarification leaves me confused I am unsure at this point what to do because I do not want to babysit almost every day. I do
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  • understand that life does happen that they have to go shopping but it needs to come to an end at some point because now I'm unsure of how to confront them without it
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  • leading to a massive argument. They will think that I don't like babysitting. I have both school and work as well
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  • AITA for not wanting to babysit them? Ty guys I'm going to not answer any calls or be available anymore forgot to mention my niece is
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  • Cheezburger Image 10634161920
    via Pexels (Helena Lopez)

    Model acting like the uncle of a young boy.

  • incredibly hard to deal with doesn't listen and has attitude (I will keep all of u updated when I confront them) (I have added a new post for the update)
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  • midsummernightwitch It is their responsibility to raise their kids. Do they even pay you?
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  • It will be a fight because they know if they fight you, you will watch them. They are using you. They either have an agreed
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  • schedule and pay you for your time at a rate that before a sitter (20$ an hour) or they find an actual baby sitter and you put your foot down.
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  • Who_Your_Mommy No. They do not NEED to go to parties. They NEED to parent their own children or PAY for a sitter. They don't
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  • pay you. They are not your children. You do not NEED to babysit. No is a complete sentence.
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  • update So I have discussed with them that I will no longer decide to watch my niece and my nephew and told
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  • them that I cannot be watching them all day due to my busy schedule the response was okay
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  • that's fine so overall it did end up well and now I don't have to worry about babysitting them
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  • anymore thank you to everyone that gave me amazing advice and hope y'all have a good day always!
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  • Luckily, he finally stood up for himself. Because becoming the regular doormat to a person's problems enables them to run away. 

    And parenthood isn't something anyone should be running away from. These kids deserve to have their parents' attention all the time, not just overnight. 

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family drama parenting parents
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