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Expecting a teenager to babysit six siblings for free is a big ask no matter how you slice it.
So when one teen grew tired of accepting iced coffee as payment instead of real money, she finally stood her ground — and it didn’t go well.
Keep reading for the full story.
AITAH for telling my parents that I won’t babysit without proper payment?
I’m 16F and I’m the oldest of 7 kids, and I often babysit.
Her mom does reimburse her, but not the way she expects.
My mom will say “I’m leaving to go…” and my payment will be a cup of iced coffee.
I do like to drink it, but I don’t want that as payment — I said I wanted money.
Her mom seems to think this is already more than she deserves.
My mom said that they (my parents) won’t be paying me to do anything, so I should be grateful they do this.
I said that I didn’t want a cup of coffee anymore — I wanted money as my payment, please.
My mom said no because they don’t have to pay me to do anything.
So finally, the teen puts her foot down — and her parents lose it.
I said if I don’t get paid properly, then I don’t babysit.
My mom told my dad, and my dad yelled at me saying that they don’t have to pay me at all because they provide shelter, food, and clothes, which is all I need — and that I will babysit whenever they say.
I said if I don’t get paid properly, I will not babysit.
Now her parents are full-on punishing her.
Now my parents have said that I won’t be getting anything for Christmas or for my birthday because I am ungrateful for what I have.
AITAH?
Sounds like this family needs to work on their communication.
What did Reddit think?
If her parents are this unreasonable, it’s time to start getting a Plan B in place.
This commenter thinks it really is that deep.
How parents treat their teens can have a huge impact on their relationship once they leave the house.
This is just way too much pressure for a 16 year old.
Being forced to babysit your siblings isn’t just a casual favor — it’s a huge responsibility.
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.