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Getting left out of a housing decision stings. Getting asked to return afterward as unpaid babysitter for the person you were effectively replaced by stings in a completely different way.
One 26-year-old has been sitting with that exact frustration since his mum and stepdad chose a two-bedroom rental over several three-bedroom alternatives within the same price range, a decision that left him without a bedroom and forced him out of the family home.
That sudden shift pushed him and his girlfriend to move up their own home-buying timeline by about a year, introducing financial pressure they weren’t ready for yet.
Now, weeks later, his parents want him to move back temporarily while they take a week-long holiday, simply to keep his 18-year-old stepbrother from being lonely.
You’ll want to keep reading for this one.
AITA for refusing to “babysit” my younger brother after my family effectively kicked me out?
I’m 26, and until recently I was living at home with my mum, stepdad, and my 18-year-old stepbrother (my stepdad’s son).
For as long as I can remember, it’s always felt like my stepbrother has been the clear favourite. I’ve tried to ignore it over the years, but recent events have really brought those feelings to the surface.
Soon came a big shakeup in their living situation.
My family rent, and our landlord recently told us she needs the property back because her son is moving in. We had to find somewhere else to live.
There were multiple three-bedroom properties within the same budget, but my mum and stepdad decided to rent a two-bedroom house instead.
He unfortunately drew the short end of the stick.
That decision meant there was no room for me, so I was effectively told I needed to find somewhere else to live.
As a result, my girlfriend and I are now having to bring forward our plans to buy a house by about a year. We’ll make it work, but it’s added a lot of financial pressure and stress that we weren’t expecting yet.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
Now here’s the part that’s really annoyed me.
My mum and stepdad are going on holiday for a week, and they’ve asked me to move back into their new house for that week just to stay with my 18-year-old stepbrother because they don’t want him to get lonely.
This doesn’t make sense to him at all.
He’s 18. He’s legally an adult. And after choosing a house that had no room for me, they now expect me to come back and play house-sitter and keep him company.
Now he feels totally conflicted.
Part of me feels guilty because it’s only a week, but another part of me feels like I’m only being included when it’s convenient for them. When it came to choosing a house, I wasn’t important enough to have a bedroom. But now they need something from me, suddenly I’m expected to help.
Am I overreacting for not wanting to do it? Would you go back after feeling like you’d been pushed out, or is it reasonable for me to say no?
He’s right to feel slighted by his family here.
If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a student who did the math and figured out he was better off skipping school than serving detention if he forgot his ID.
What did Reddit have to say?
If he’s going to do this, he should at least be paid properly.
A short and simple refusal should do the trick.
18 is obviously too old to babysat.
The parents are really the ones in the wrong.
Being completely excluded from a housing decision isn’t some minor oversight. His parents were crystal clear about their priorities.
Their request for babysitting makes zero sense. First of all, 18 years old is way too old to be babysat. Second of all, did the parents really have such little self awareness that they failed to consider the optics of this?
Anyone who was recently kicked out of their childhood home would (rightfully) still carry more than a little resentment over it.
His parents can’t just include him when it’s convenient for them.