Imagine having a nephew who has cancer and is in the hospital a lot. If you were at the hospital to spend time with him, would you also be willing to keep an eye on another child in the same room so the child’s parents could leave?

In this story, one young man is in this exact situation, and he refuses to help out the other kid’s parents.

They got really mad about it, and it’s making him question his decision.

Let’s read the whole story.

AITAH for not watching over another kid at the hospital?

My 21M oldest sister’s son 9M has been in the hospital for a few days now. He’s had cancer unfortunately since he was 5 years old and he’s always in an out of the hospital but he’s a tough kid.

Both her and my brother in law are doctors and they work crazy hours mainly at night. When they’re off most of their time they’re with him but when they’re not available I go instead.

I love my nephew and they pay me for it which is nice because I’m a college student and I’m putting myself through college. Parents fell on hard times and couldn’t help me like my older siblings.

This is a big responsbilitiy.

They have him in a room with two other kids.

One of the kids parents can’t stay the night with him, and they’ve asked me to look after him as well.

But that kid needs constant supervision. He’s hooked up to machines and they need to keep sure he’s breathing right.

I can’t do that while also being with my nephew.

The kid’s parents got really upset.

I’ve told them that and they exploded at me. They called me an ignorant kid who doesn’t get how hard it is to see his child like that.

I told them I’m sorry and expressed sympathy for their kid and wished him a fast recovery.

But they’re still mad at me.

The mom ended up staying the night and she just glares at me all the time and keeps making these disgusted sounds whenever she passes by me.

Am I a jerk here?

I get that the kid’s parents are probably really tired, stressed and upset. They probably desperately need a break. But that doesn’t mean OP has to agree to take responsibility for their son.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

He’s definitely not qualified for this responsibility.

A parent weighs in.

The kid’s parents should’ve talked to the hospital staff.

They never even should’ve asked him to take on such a big responsibility.

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.