Parents are supposed to take care of their children not abandon them and forget about them.
In today’s story, a teenage boy’s parents literally forgot about him and left him behind when they moved, so his grandparents now raise him.
That’s great, but the problem is that the parents are now asking the teen to convince his grandparents to help them financially.
Let’s see how the story plays out…
AITA for refusing to ask my grandparents to help my parents and siblings financially?
I’ve (16M) lived with my grandparents for the last two years.
They won custody over me after my parents left the state with my siblings for 3 nights but forgot me and when they remembered I wasn’t with them they called me and said they would waste their time coming back to get me.
This was not the first time this happened.
My grandparents had documented several incidents of this happening and they had called CPS on my parents for stuff like this before.
So my grandparents won custody over me and I moved in with them.
OP has to see his parents in therapy but doesn’t see his siblings.
I’m in therapy with my parents. Unfortunately, it’s court ordered and the judge won’t let it end until I’m 18.
So I still have one day every week where I see them for about an hour. I don’t see my siblings anymore.
Some other background info before getting to the point so you’ll see why this is a big deal.
I’m the middle child and got the stereotypical deal of being looked over a lot and ignored more than my older or younger siblings.
His siblings were all mean to him, and his parents overlooked him.
My siblings joked about me being unloved a lot and they’d say things were better without me there and how they knew is nobody ever noticed me missing stuff until the end.
My younger siblings would always call me gay and girly as an insult.
My older siblings would say our parents were forced to adopt me and that’s why they always forgot me and didn’t love me.
My parents never said a thing when my siblings would say stuff like that in front of me.
My parents never remembered my favorite food, my birthday, gifts for Christmas, my PT conferences and all kinds of stuff. They never forgot those things for my siblings.
OP’s parents have forgotten about him since he was a baby.
Whenever we spent time with extended family my parents would bring up this “funny story” about leaving me in the cart at the supermarket when I was a baby and driving away before someone reminded them about me.
I was 10 weeks old.
My parents used to complain if anyone in our family gave me gifts that looked bigger or more expensive than what they gave my siblings.
OP’s grandparents are good to him.
So anyway, I live with my grandparents now and I’m way happier.
My grandparents told me they’ll help me through college or a trade or whatever I want to do after high school and they spoil me. Which my parents and siblings know about and hate.
My parents got into financial issues about a month ago and asked my grandparents for a loan.
My grandparents said no and refused to help them. They also refused to send anything to help my siblings.
OP’s parents want the grandparents’ financial help.
At my therapy appointment two weeks ago my parents asked me to speak to my grandparents and ask them to help.
I said no and I followed through.
My parents brought it up again at the next appointment and when I said I hadn’t asked they called me selfish and they told me I should care more about my younger siblings and doing good by them. They told me I’m willing to let them suffer because I was ignored but I was never in the bad situation they are.
AITA?
These parents sound horrible, and they have some nerve to ask their forgotten mistreated son to help them. OP is lucky to have his grandparents.
Let’s see how Reddit reacted…
This reader wonders why the therapist would even allow the parents to make this request.
Another reader thinks the grandparents are already helping the parents enough.
Another person warns OP not to back down.
This person is also on OP’s side.
I hope that his grandparents would also say “no” even if he asked.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.