Family dinners should be a chance to relax, not a recurring therapy session.

But for one sister, every meal turned into a broken record of parenting complaints.

When advice fell on deaf ears, she put the dinners on pause, and now her sister isn’t happy about it.

Read on for the story.

AITA Because I stopped inviting my sister to weekly dinners until she can either parent her kid or stay quiet about it?

I used to invite my sister “J” and niece “L” to family dinners every Friday, but J has begun changing the subject to her parenting struggles with L.

Normally, I would be open to lending an ear and letting her vent.

But it’s exhausting because now every conversation is a variation of the same two basic formulas…

Let’s hear it.

Version #1

J: “The meds aren’t working because L stays up all night on her phone and then sleeps in class!”

Me: “OK, take away the phone before bed and don’t give it back to her until the next morning. Problem solved.”

J: “Well I don’t want to do that because then she gets mad at me!”

Me: “Then what do you expect me to do?!”

Yikes.

Version #2

J: “L doesn’t listen to me, I’m always getting calls from her school because she gives the teachers attitude!”

Me: “OK, then you need to figure out and enforce a punishment because that is not acceptable behavior.”

J: “See, L? Auntie says-”

Me: “No, I’m not telling her to do anything. You’re the parent, not me. You need to tell her what she is and isn’t allowed to do.”

Oh boy.

I told J that I don’t want to resume our weekly dinners until she can either parent L or stay quiet about it.

I work long weeks and just want a pleasant and relaxing dinner on the weekend.

What I don’t want is to be drained by parenting struggles when we can talk about anything besides that.

J lashed out, saying I know BIL isn’t around to help consistently, and I don’t care about her or L if I’m not willing to listen to her struggles.

As I said, I am more than willing to let my sister vent and help her.

But everyone has their limits.

Especially when J doesn’t seem to want real solutions to her parenting struggles. AITA?

Guess it’s no phones and no family dinners until further notice!

But seriously…Reddit is on the poster’s side.

This person really feels for her.

This person can’t believe her ears, literally.

This person can just relate.

Sometimes, setting boundaries means prioritizing your own peace—even if it ruffles a few family feathers.

Everyone has their limits.

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.