It’s normal to want to help your parents and it’s normal for your parents to expect you to help them. To an extent.

Too often, expectations far exceed what is reasonable.

Check out how it is affecting this son.

AITA for not helping translate for my Mum

I have been translating for my mum basically since I’ve been born, because my mum moved to the UK from a Spanish-speaking country.

She’s been here since the 90s and doesn’t know a word of English somehow and from as young as I can remember, I’ve had to do all the translating.

It’s profoundly affected him for his whole life.

Since I was really young, I’ve had to deal with adult problems, like having to call collection agencies and explain why my mum couldn’t pay, having to book doctors’ appointments, talk to the police, etc.

It gets to a point where it annoys me so much that I have to deal with this, because my mum was too lazy to learn English. I’m like, “Why me? Why do I have to do this?”

And when I complain, my mum calls me “Selfish,” “Ungrateful” and says things like, “I can’t count on you for anything,” even though I’ve helped her translate thousands of times before.

I think the part that gets to me the most is that she makes no effort to try and learn English or try talking to people by herself.

Mum’s manipulation gets in the way of a change.

I find it crazy how she’s been living in the UK much longer than in her home country and still doesn’t know English.

The reason I’m making this post is because yesterday my mum had to make a call with her phone courier and she shoved the phone in my face without any context.

I had to figure out what she wanted me to say while she was being rude to me because I didn’t know what she wanted me to do.

I did it begrudgingly, but now we have to call back again, and I’m refusing because I’m tired of having to translate.

She’s calling me ungrateful, selfish, etc. AITA?

Here is what folks are saying.

Exactly. Mom guilt sucks.

Great idea! Lots of ways to learn.

I thought this, too. Like weaponized incompetence.

Good for her! It’s important.

I think that she’s going to drag her kid down.

Maybe ask her for cash to keep doing this for her.

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.