As a teen, balancing a need for independence with your parents’ wishes is always a challenge.

When this teen’s parents expected her to constantly babysit her younger siblings, she made a risky choice that backfired, leaving her caught between two unhappy parents.

Read on for the fully story!

AITA for sneaking out and leaving my mom’s kids alone to hang out with friends?

I (17F) am in a tough situation and need some perspective.

My parents are divorced, and I spend time at both my mom’s and dad’s houses.

At my mom’s, I have a stepdad and three younger step-siblings (4, 7, and 12).

Here’s where the trouble comes in.

Whenever I’m at my mom’s, I’m expected to babysit my siblings.

It happens every single time.

I’ve told my mom multiple times that I don’t want to babysit and that I need time to hang out with my friends, do school work, or just have some personal time.

She doesn’t listen and forces me to babysit anyway.

I got fed up with it and came up with a plan.

She figures someone else can step in while she’s away.

Since my 12-year-old sibling is pretty responsible, I decided to sneak out the back door after my mom and stepdad left.

I figured the 12-year-old could handle things for a couple of hours while I hung out with my friends.

This plan worked for a few times, but then my mom came home early one day and found out I wasn’t there.

Her parents weren’t too happy when they found out.

She went insane, yelling at me and saying I was irresponsible and put my siblings in danger.

She even called my dad to complain about it, which made things even worse for me.

Now, my mom is saying I’m grounded and that I can’t be trusted.

My dad is upset with my mother, as he understands my side a bit more.

She wants to know now whether she was justified in her choice.

I’m feeling really stuck because I just want some freedom and not to be forced into being a babysitter every time I’m at my mom’s.

So, AITA for sneaking out and leaving my siblings alone?

The teen is acting her age, so it’s time for her mother to act hers too.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s healthy for teens to have a little responsibility, but there’s too much on her shoulders right now.

This redditor warns these types of situations never end well.

If she doesn’t like being forced to babysit, how would it make her 12 year old sibling feel?

She should at least get some kind of payment for filling in as the babysitter.

 

Grounded and frustrated, this teen wonders if she’ll ever get her needs heard.

Forcing her into a caregiver role won’t nurture the family bond her mom is hoping for.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.