Helping with your sibling sometimes is one thing, but when you’re basically a co-parent, that’s a whole other issue.

So, what would you do if you finally moved out and built a life of your own, but your parents asked you to step back into a role that already burned you out once? Would you outright refuse to help? Or would you agree but try to set clear boundaries from the start?

In the following story, one young man finds himself in this predicament and is cautious about choosing the latter. Here’s his story.

WIBTA If I didnt want to coparent my brother again.

I (M26) used to be like a co-parent for my little brother (M13) for most of my teenage life until I moved out.

I was getting up at 5 am to prepare him for school, teaching him after work, solely cleaning the house most of the time, and cooking for the family. Basically, the usual oldest sibling responsibility, and I’ve burnt out with juggling work, personal (if there was any), and home, all by myself.

However, I have now managed to move out and get my own apartment. Now, since rent is expensive, I decided to go with a live-in situation with my gf to split the bills. Additionally, I’ve started a new job that requires me to drive an hour and a half each way.

He offered to help her for a few hours on Fridays.

Aside from struggling with the daily drive, Im also struggling with the new work scope and responsibilities that require some overtime to meet deadlines.

Recently, my mom reached out, saying she wants me to take my brother weekly so she can get some rest and de-stress. Now I im hesitant to commit to a weekly schedule since I im already tired from the week of travelling, and I honestly dont have the energy or capacity to be a co-parent again.

To kind of meet halfway, I called my Mom to let her know I might be able to take him from her for a couple of hours on Fridays if I’m not too busy.

Now, he’s concerned his mom is going to start taking advantage.

Initially, she agreed on the phone. However, I get a text message later on saying that it can’t be a couple of hours, as she needs one whole day to destress and spend time with my Dad.

She also implied that if I can take care of “others” (im assuming it’s my gf), then a weekly visit from my brother shouldn’t be an issue.

One more thing I’m really afraid of happening is that I said yes to this, it’ll somehow get bigger and bigger requests in the future. Until it slowly becomes the same environment that I tried to get away from.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s not cool when your mom makes you feel like that.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think he should do.

According to this comment, the mom is good at guilting.

Here’s someone who suggests his dad take care of his brother.

This reader thinks the brother should be pretty self-sufficient at that age.

As this reader points out, it seems his mom likes to take advantage.

He needs to be careful, because it does seem like his mom will keep pushing.

It may be best to just refuse from the start.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.