One big sister enjoys her one day off each week on Sundays, but soon has her mom asking her to swap it for Friday so she can watch her energetic 4-year-old brother while she works.
Despite her love for her brother, she feels that babysitting on her only day off is unfair, especially since her parents’ pasts don’t take into account her need for personal time.
Doesn’t sound like a fair trade-off for a little brother who’s basically a tornado on two legs, does it?
Read on for what happens next.
AITA because I don’t want my one day off to consist of babysitting?
I 16F, go to school 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs) and from Fri-Sat I go to work 10-5:30.
I always have Sundays off.
Recently my mom who has been attempting to go back into the workforce wants me to switch my work schedule and have Friday be my day off, and not Sunday.
Here’s the catch: I have a little brother (4).
My mom claims a lot of the jobs she’s aiming for want her to work Fridays and that I’ll need to watch my lil bro for a “few hours” (yeah sure mom) until she gets off of her shift.
Oh cool, so you’re working on your day off!
My little brother is a constant piece of work, and is more full of energy than a semi full of red-bull drinks.
He isn’t a bad kid however, he is extremely curious about everything and loves making messes, without any bad intentions of course.
This means he must be monitored at all times.
I love my brother more than any one person I know, however, I need my resting time and my breaks.
The whole idea of me switching my schedule around just so my mom can work sounds good, but it really only benefits her.
When I have Sundays off it gives me one day of peace before i start another week of school and work.
It would also interfere with opportunities for sleepovers on Saturday nights with my friends because their schedules are similar.
Fridays just wouldn’t work out.
A little selfish if you ask me.
This puts me in a frustrating position with my parents.
I told my dad about how I didn’t want to change my schedule because it would mean I would have to watch my brother on my one day off, and I deserve a break.
To nobody’s surprise he starts going off at me.
He loves to bring up his past and how he had to similar things growing up due to his massive mormon family with around 10 siblings, and the way he had to watch his family.
Now, in case nobody on this planet has noticed, times have changed.
It’s normal for a human being to ask for time to their self andI I feel as though others should respect that.
Amen.
He claimed that I was selfish and how they had to watch me as a baby growing up (huh 😭), then after I claimed that my brother wasn’t my kid he just said that i need to get over myself and how “that’s life.”
I’m filled with annoyance and I feel the farthest thing from being understood.
I am predicting a bigger argument will happen after my mom starts making moves such as getting a job and getting a schedule.
I have never been a maternal person (mother trauma core) so it’s never been a joy to watch or babysit kids, I often prefer to avoid the whole thing.
Don’t blame you.
This puts me in a hard spot so I really don’t know how to navigate this.
I feel like I’m being treated unfairly and this is unjust, this sucks and I’m miserable lol end of story.
For clarification: Daycare is a no go trust me I tried, my mom as of recently (5 years) has only had one other job which was during this summer and she quit due to “drama.”
She does breed dogs so her money isn’t entirely of my dads check.
And lastly my dad does work Fridays and has my entire life so there’s no way he’s changing HIS schedule.
Caught between her desire for personal time and her family’s expectations, the girl feels unheard and burdened by the thought of being a makeshift babysitter.
Reddit feels like this is pretty unfair.
This person says a 16-year-old needs to have a social life, not work 7 days a week.
This person gives a creative way to say “no.”
This person says it’s absolutely not the responsibility of a sister to be a mom figure.
Self-care is a thing, people!
Sounds like she just wants a break from babysitting, not a front-row seat to the chaos of parenthood.
If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.