Many teenagers struggle with big life transitions, especially when it threatens their stability.

One teenager watched his parents finally build the bigger family they always wanted — only to be pushed into the background and treated more like free babysitting help than a proper son.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITA for telling my parents I won’t babysit for free anymore?

I was an only child for 13 years. My mom and dad had a hard time having more kids after me, and that was something they carried around for years.

From the start, this impacted his relationship with his parents.

I always knew they wanted more kids, and they talked about it enough when I was little that it made me feel not good enough for them.

They didn’t ignore me back then, but they always argued with my mom’s parents about how they needed and wanted more children.

They said they didn’t need a huge family, but they needed more than one kid.

It hurt whenever I heard that stuff.

Luckily, his grandparents always went to bat for him, unlike his actual parents.

My grandparents used to get really frustrated with them, not just because of the arguments, but because my parents would tell me directly how much they wanted more kids and how they didn’t feel like they had the family of their dreams.

My grandparents warned them that I would internalize it. But my parents always said it wasn’t like they didn’t love me or show me love.

But despite his grandparents’ warnings, his parents began trying for more kids anyway.

When I was 9, my parents started exploring fertility treatments. My dad and mom sat me down beforehand and said my mom would be different for a while—that she’d cry more, get mad easier, and that I needed to be gentle with her.

I was 11 when they moved from other treatments to IVF, and I was 13 when they had my sister.

Once my sister was born, my mom had no trouble getting pregnant. Now I have two sisters and a brother.

This led to some huge changes.

Everything changed when they started having more kids. We moved into a bigger house, my mom quit her job to stay home, and I was no longer allowed to have friends over.

My parents also stopped insisting I be home at a specific time. I got the smallest bedroom because they said young kids need more space for toys and everything.

Then the incessant babysitting requests began.

When my brother was born (sibling two of three), I was asked to babysit so they could have couple time, and I said yes. But it went from once every couple of months with two under two, to three under three and once a week.

Then it started getting earlier, and my parents would ignore my calls. They would call just to “talk to the babies” while they were out, and it happened at least twice every time they went out.

But they were never there for him in the same way.

If I called for something, there was no answer. They never answered my questions or came home when I asked if it was just for me. They would race home for my siblings.

They began to act like his entire life should revolve around babysitting.

I got a part-time job, and my parents were upset about it. They asked me when I’d ever have time for my family with school and a job.

They really didn’t like me having the job. A few weeks later, they asked about babysitting again, and I said I had work.

So finally, he put his foot down.

They told me to try to be free Saturday nights, and I said no. They said they needed me to babysit at least once a month, and I said no more free babysitting.

I told them I was their son, not their babysitter, but they didn’t treat me like their son anymore.

My parents asked me to talk to them like an adult instead of just saying no more babysitting.

Now he’s spending more and more time at his grandparents’ house.

My grandparents took my side when they found out, and my parents got mad. So now I spend some nights at my grandparents’ house.

My parents don’t like it. They’ve stopped me a few times, but sometimes they’re so wrapped up in the kids that they forget.

They get wrapped up in them a lot, and their date nights are the only time it’s not all about the babies—that’s what they call them.

AITA?

Sometimes you just have to say no, even to the people closest to you.

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter would fly the coop altogether.

This user agrees it may be time to get as far away from these parents as possible.

It seems these parents didn’t fully think things through.

This teen has already sacrificed more than his fair share, and now it’s time to move on.

Sometimes the healthiest thing a teen can do is step out of a role that was never fair in the first place.

He deserves so much more than his parents are giving him.

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