Parents Let Middle Daughter Plan Vacations And Pick Her Room First, So Siblings Accuse Them Of Favoritism
by Diana Whelan
In a family of six, one daughter has become the go-to planner for vacations, finding budget-friendly spots that suit everyone’s needs.
Her reward?
First choice of room.
While her siblings have had opportunities to plan, their picks often exceed the budget or fail to accommodate everyone, leading to repeated reliance on her practical choices.
Read on for the story.
AITA for always letting my middle daughter choose her room/bed first on vacations?
My husband and I have 4 kids, Evan (20), Adriana (16), Elizabeth (15), and Michael (15).
We try to travel 3-4 times a year.
3 years ago, the night before we were supposed to leave, my friend told us we couldn’t use her cabin anymore.
We were all looking for new places and Adriana sent a listing for this small town in the middle of nowhere.
We ignored it the first few times she sent it but she eventually talked us into looking at it and it was perfect.
We paid a little over $200 a night for a beautiful cabin on the lake with a game room and enough beds to allow everyone to get their own bed.
Looks like someone might have a future in travel planning.
The people were great, the drive wasn’t bad, and there was actually a lot of things to do there.
It’s become one of our favorite vacation spots.
When Adriana was 14, we pretty much started letting her book family vacations.
She had to run everything by us first but she was the one that chose where we went and where we stayed.
Her only condition is that she gets first pick for rooms/beds.
She’s even booked an international vacation for us, including flights and a rental car.
We’ve given the other kids opportunities to help with vacations.
They all know if they can find a place that we’d want to go to and stay within a budget, they can get first dibs if we book it.
Seriously, future travel agent or family CEO in the making!
The problems are that they have a hard time sticking to a budget or they’re set on a specific place even if it’s not suitable for everyone.
They’ll pick a hotel or rental that’s nearly the entire (or over the) vacation budget or doesn’t have enough rooms because it has a specific feature.
Because of this, we almost always go with Adriana’s choice.
We recently spent 3 nights in a cabin with 3 bedrooms. 2 rooms had a king bed and an en suite.
3rd had 4 twin beds.
Adriana chose one of the rooms with the king beds.
There was a pull out couch available but none of them wanted it.
After we left, they were upset that Adriana got her own room and bathroom while the rest of them had to share.
I told them they know the deal and that if they can find a place for everyone, stay within budget, and pick a place that we’d all want to go to, they can also choose their room and bed.
A tough lesson: budget skills and compromise come with perks.
They say they try but we always pick Adriana’s listings.
I told them her listings are usually more practical.
We paid a little under $600 for the cabin that we stayed at after taxes and fees.
It had so many free activities nearby that the entire 3 day vacation for 6 people came out to just under $1000.
They can’t beat it with a $1800 listing with 2 beds and a single bathroom.
They think we’re being unfair and should rotate who books the vacations and chooses the rooms but I just don’t have that kind of money to throw away.
And I’m not going to deal with the fighting that’ll inevitably come when they pick a place with not enough beds or bathrooms.
The arrangement might seem unfair to her siblings, but when it comes to staying within budget and avoiding chaos, it’s a system that works.
Is rewarding responsibility truly favoritism?
Yes. Yes it is. At least, according to Reddit.
This person can’t believe Mom is letting her daughter occupy the room herself.
This person says it’s no wonder her other kids feel hurt and annoyed.
And this person says this is a teaching moment that Mom isn’t handling well.
Fair deal or blatant favoritism?
The family dynamics say it all.
If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Categories: STORIES
Tags: · aita, family, favoritism, hotels, middle child, parenting, picture, place to stay, reddit, top, trip, vacation

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