August 11, 2026 at 2:47 pm

She Was Done Babysitting Her Niece After Her Sister-in-Law Refused to Communicate With Her Directly

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You’d probably assume that if you agreed to watch someone’s children, that person would trust you, respect you, and communicate with you.

But, then you’d probably also assume that people are normal and not total weirdos…and then you’d be WRONG.

In today’s story, a woman explained why she doesn’t want to watch her baby niece…and she has plenty of good reasons for feeling that way.

Check out what she had to say!

AITA for not wanting to babysit my niece?

“I recently had a baby about 8 months ago.

My sister-in-law also had a baby, just two weeks older than mine. I’ve been fortunate (and thrifty) enough to stay home with my baby. This is my second child, and I really wanted the stay-at-home mom experience since I worked full-time with my first.

My sister-in-law needed to return to work, so I offered to watch my niece for free because I know how expensive daycare is and wanted her child somewhere safe. She wasn’t comfortable with me doing it for free, so we agreed on $10/hour.

This is weird…

The problem is that my sister-in-law rarely communicates with me directly. Instead, she uses my mother-in-law as the middleman for everything, including the conversation about pay.

I told my mother-in-law I’d be more comfortable discussing childcare directly with my sister-in-law, but she said my sister-in-law has social anxiety and isn’t comfortable having those conversations.

At first I accepted that, but recently her work schedule has been inconsistent, and those changes haven’t been communicated to me. I’ve been left waiting for her to show up, only for her not to come, or she’s arrived on days I wasn’t expecting her.

Recently, my partner, my mother-in-law, my partner’s uncle (as a mediator), and I had a conversation about the issue. My sister-in-law wasn’t there because those discussions make her uncomfortable.

We agreed that the three of us would sit down together and create a childcare calendar.

This is so strange…

A few days later, during a family BBQ, I walked inside and overheard my mother-in-law and sister-in-law making that calendar without me.

It’s now hanging on the refrigerator, but no one has spoken to me about it, confirmed it’s my schedule, or even asked for my input. There’s also a lot of unrelated family drama that I’m trying to stay out of.

At this point, I feel like I’m doing my sister-in-law a huge favor by watching my niece in my mother-in-law’s home, where she’s comfortable, while saving her thousands in childcare costs.

Yet I often feel like she’s not grateful and treats me like I’m beneath her or not worth speaking to directly.

She’s done dealing with this.

I’m no longer comfortable babysitting, and honestly, the stress and drama aren’t worth it.

For background, I’ve been with my partner (her brother and the father of my baby) for almost four years. I’ve attended countless family gatherings and don’t think I’ve ever come across as unapproachable.

My sister-in-law has barely spoken to me during that time, and I’ve often felt ignored or ostracized. As an only child, I’d always hoped to have a sisterly relationship with her, especially since our babies are so close in age, but that hasn’t happened. I’m at the point where I’m done trying.

Would I be a jerk if I stopped babysitting, cut my losses, and moved on?”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person had a lot to say.