Living at home during college can offer stability, but it often comes with strings attached.

For one student, those strings turned into a near full-time unpaid babysitting role for her step-siblings that she never agreed to. Now she’s left questioning where family support ends and exploitation begins.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to babysit my step-siblings when my stepmom asks?

I (20F) live at home part-time while doing college online.

My dad (50s) got remarried about 5 years ago to “Sarah” (40s), and she has two kids from her previous marriage—Leo (7M) and Mia (5F).

I honestly love those kids, and we get along really well.

But everything hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows.

Lately though, things have been rough. Sarah just started a new job that’s super demanding, and she’s clearly stressed.

Because of that, she’s been asking me to watch the kids… constantly. Like last-minute stuff, multiple times a week, for hours at a time.

Because of this, her own commitments have been falling by the wayside.

It’s really starting to mess with my schoolwork, my part-time job, and my social life. I’m starting to feel less like a student living at home and more like a free live-in babysitter.

I’ve gently tried suggesting she look into other options—like after-school care or hiring someone—but she always says she can’t afford it or that she trusts me more.

Which is flattering, I guess, but also… a lot.

So when she finally confronts her step-mom, it doesn’t go well.

Yesterday was kinda the breaking point. She called me at 4 p.m. asking if I could watch them ’til 9 because her sitter canceled.

But I had a major assignment due at midnight and already had plans with friends. I told her, “I love the kids, but I can’t keep doing this. I’ve got my own stuff going on. I’m not a free babysitter.”

Her step-mom begins laying on the guilt.

She started crying and said if I won’t help her when she’s struggling, then I’m not really part of the family.

Her dad isn’t much help either.

Now my dad’s stuck in the middle—he gets where I’m coming from, but also thinks I should “just help out more” to make things easier.

She now feels torn between obligation and frustration.

I feel bad because I know she’s stressed and not doing this to be malicious… but I also feel like I’m being totally taken advantage of.

So… AITA for saying no and not wanting to be the go-to babysitter all the time?

Occasionally helping out is one thing, but fully carrying the weight of someone else’s responsibilities is another.

What did Reddit have to say?

This user thinks the father is majorly dropping the ball here.

Childcare for someone else’s kids really shouldn’t be someone’s unpaid responsibility.

This commenter agrees the dad really needs to step up and do his part.

Maybe it’s time for this student to find another place to spend her time.

She wanted to be supported, but she couldn’t keep at it at the expense of her own needs.

Sometimes stepping back is the only way to move forward.

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.