Taking care of children takes a lot of time and effort, and having family around who can help with babysitting and other things can be really helpful for everyone.

What would you do if your parents and grandparents kept offering to watch your cousin, but it always means that you have to watch her even though you are tired and busy?

That is what happened to the teen girl in this story, and while she doesn’t mind helping out sometimes, she feels like everyone is only focused on her cousin and not worried about how it is impacting her. So, when her parents couldn’t even take pay attention to her while prom dress shopping, she got upset and said she wasn’t going to help with her cousin anymore.

Now her parents are saying she is being selfish, and she doesn’t know if she was out of line. Read through the story below and see what you think about the situation.

I think that it is completely understandable that she is frustrated and upset with what is going on, but also that she may have overreacted. It is definitely a hard situation to be in, so read through the details and see what you think.

AITA for refusing to babysit a child anymore?

I need answers because I’m genuinely at my wits ends.

Let’s see what’s going on.

I want to make clear that I do not blame the mom or the child for what is happening. They are sweet people who deserve the best

I (F 17) am an introvert who is on her last leg of junior year. Between school, extracurriculars, and trying to fight through the last one and a half years to get into the collage of my choice, I’ve been tired beyond belief.

How did she get roped into babysitting after school?

It’s become a habit that I take about an hour when I get home (no matter the time) to recoup and collect enough energy to talk.

So recently, we’ve started having kali (F 9) over a lot. I wouldn’t have minded if I didn’t find myself and my brothers doing most of the care for her.

Ahh, so Grandpa wanted the child to come over, but doesn’t want to do the work.

And being as exhausted as I am when I get home to immediately taking care of a kid, it feels like a lot. I understand my grandad is old, but I feel if you invite them willingly, you should take care of them. And when we asked, he simply replied he wants to start bonding with her as family.

Kali is a product of an affair.

To be short, my male cousin on my mom’s side was seeing a woman. He got careless, and she got pregnant with Kali.

It is nice that the family is stepping in to help, but they can’t just dump it on this young lady.

Our cousin eventually married and move states away, but the mom struggled to make ends meet. She didn’t communicate with us because she was in an abusive relationship (which she managed to get out of) and is now in contact with us and doesn’t live far. She is now a single mother who doesn’t get child support.

I ignored it at first, but my and final straw came just a few weeks ago. My first prom was coming up, and I was shamelessly excited.

Prom is such an exciting event in life.

I had originally intended to pick a dress online by myself and wear it. But I wanted to have time with my parents. My dad is rarely free, and I’ve been so busy I stay out more than at home.

So, I asked both parents separately to come and help pick out a dress on a free day we all had. To which they happily agreed.

It is completely understandable that she doesn’t want Kali there for the shopping.

On the day of, Kali is at our house. At first, we assume she’ll be gone before the afternoon. But as 4 pm rolled around, she was still there and my mom had taken a call from her mom about later times. But she still insisted we do prom shopping. She said it’ll be nice, so I thought she’d leave Kali with grandad and my two brothers.

But she took her with us.

The one day where I wanted to bond with my parents was ruined.

I can see why she is upset, but she is being a bit dramatic.

It was awkward, Kali was energetic and complaining, and my dad was equally uncomfortable. By the end, I ended up settling on a dress instead of taking my time like I intended.

After, I confronted my mom who told me I was being insensitive. I exploded and told her right there that from now on, I won’t even look at Kali expect to say “hi” and “I love you”.

Family does help family, but all the work shouldn’t fall on this young lady.

My mom was furious and said family helps family, but I said if she wanted her around, she’d have to take care of her herself and to not rely on me. She called me selfish and closed off and we haven’t talked about it since.

So, was I wrong for saying I am not taking care of a child anymore?

AITA?

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It is, unfortunately, very easy to just let a teenager assume the responsibility of babysitting, but it really isn’t fair. While it is great that the family wants to bring Kali closer, they shouldn’t do it at the expense of this young lady.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a sister who canceled a family dinner after realizing she’d been the only one putting in effort for years.

Let’s take a look and see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.

I think this commenter is correct.

This person says she shouldn’t be responsible for babysitting. She didn’t offer to babysit, she doesn’t have to do it.

Creating boundaries is an important skill.

I wonder what she is really being asked to do.

This person says that her parents ruined a special day, and that is on them.

If the family really is relying on her to do all the babysitting, that isn’t fair at all. While it is nice to help out when she can, it isn’t her job to do all the work.

Her parents also need to make sure that they are giving her the attention she needs. She is nearly done with high school and has a lot going on. They should not be prioritizing this other child above their own when she still needs them.