When you are off at college or in an unfamiliar area, staying with family can be a great way to save money and get to know the lay of the land.

What would you do if you were staying with your aunt, and she asked you to watch her young children for two weeks while she traveled?

That is the situation the student in this story is in. She wants to tell her aunt no but isn’t sure if that would be out of line.

Let’s read the whole story.

WIBTA for refusing to watch my aunt’s children?

I (19F) is living at my aunt’s(45F) house in a foreign country right now.

My aunt isn’t really close with my parents and my mom doesn’t really like her that much.

Very impressive.

Last year, I graduated and got a half scholarship to this university.

I wanted to rent an apartment but my aunt lived nearby campus and my family wanted me to be with someone related so i moved in to her house.

She has 2 children (2F, 5M) and she has an on and off relationship with her husband.

From the moment i walked into that house, it was clear that I wasn’t welcome.

I guess that is better than nothing.

They gave me a spare room that used to be their store room with no furniture and told me to buy my own bed and stuff.

She also makes me pay rent and for my own food.

I work a half time job and a nearby restaurant and also studies.

Now the problem is, my aunt recently got back together with her husband and they’re planning a two week vacation abroad.

She wants me to watch her children while she’s away, and also expects me to pay for their needs in the meantime.

From her perspective, I owe this to her because she’s “putting a roof over my head” and without her, I wouldn’t have a place to stay.

This is neglect!

I told her that i cannot watch two toddlers while juggling work and school but she told me to just leave work and come check up on them several times a day and that should be enough.

Am I wrong if i told her that i don’t want to watch her children for two weeks?

WIBTA?

Not wrong at all, and checking on a 2 and 5 year old a few times a day is absolutely not sufficient and is likely illegal.

Read on to see what the people in the comments on Reddit say about this.

This person says to find another place to live.

Two weeks of babysitting is not cheap.

This does seem illegal.

This person says she owes the aunt nothing.

Yes, the aunt sounds neglectful.

This aunt is crazy.

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.