Woman Learns Her Sister Plans To Foster A Child, But She Says There’s A Troubling Motive Behind The Decision That Others Don’t Know About
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Foster care is supposed to provide vulnerable children with stability, safety, and adults committed to supporting their needs.
One woman instead viewed an older foster teenager as free childcare, household labor, and assistance for her home business.
When a social worker unexpectedly contacted her sister for a character reference, honesty could determine whether that plan moved forward.
See what she revealed.
AITA for telling a social worker the real reason my sister wants a foster kid?
I am a 28-year-old woman, and I have a sister, who is 36. For the sake of story, I’ll call her Jane. Jane is married to “Bob,” and they have two kids, boy and a girl.
My niece and nephew are wonderful kids and no trouble at all. They fight as siblings do but nothing big. I love them.
For about two years, I lived with my sister. It was a miserable time that really affected our relationship. She saw me as free labor, money and babysitting.
Even when I managed to get a small part time job, she demanded I hand over nearly half my pay or get out. It was hell, as she took completely advantage of me. I moved out as soon as I could, and we have little contact outside of family gatherings.
Read on to see how Jane is still affecting her life down the line.
Now after I moved out, she started complaining how “She has no help with the kids and never gets a break!”
I babysit sometimes, but I have made it clear, just cause I am off work, doesn’t mean I want an eight hour day with my niece and nephew.
Anyway, she started talking about how she wanted to foster a kid. Not a kid but a teenager.
I pressed her for more info on this. She wants to adopt a teenager so she has a live-in babysitter for her kids.
Yikes! Let’s see how Jane tried to justify this.
This is her logic: “I want a kid around 16 or 17, you know someone who may have been in the system for awhile. They can share a room with your nephew (she only has a three bedroom house) or sleep in the garage.
They can help me with housework, chores, cook and help me with my business (she bakes and sells cookies), and also babysit the kids so me and Bob can go out sometimes or have some alone time.
They’ll be so grateful for a home and won’t complain. I won’t have to pay them at all. And then when they turn 18, I can just sign up for another foster kid!
A teenager will be so much easier than a little kid, they will be grateful just to have a roof, food, siblings if they have been separated from their real ones and clothes.”
Uh-oh. Read on to see how the younger sister reacted to Jane’s awful plan.
I was horrified, and I told her it was a horrible idea! But she didn’t listen to me, and she went on with it anyway.
About a month ago, a social worker showed up at my apartment to ask me some questions about my sister. She had put me down as a character witness or something like that.
I immediately told the social worker why my sister really wanted to foster a kid, and how she treated me when I lived with her.
The lady thanked me.
But her actions caused the drama to get even worse.
My sister called me crying, saying that she wouldn’t be considered for any adoptions or fosters. The social worker told her that they felt her home and her weren’t a good fit.
She asked if I said anything and I told the truth. She went off on me, hung up and we haven’t spoken since, though she has sent some angry texts. A couple family members are on her side.
They think foster kids are dogs or something and would be so happy just to have a roof and would gladly do all the housework.
AITA?
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Not only is this woman not in the wrong for what she did, she also saved a poor foster kid from the potential trauma of being Jane’s victim, just as she herself was.
It was a noble thing to do, and even if this does ruin her relationship with Jane and other family members for good, at least she can live with the good conscience that she prevented another young person from becoming her sister’s slave.
Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.
This person agreed that she saved not only the foster child, but potentially her niece and nephew too.
While others explained just how dire the situation could have become.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who doesn’t want to help his sister cover their aging father’s groceries.
Meanwhile, some Redditors expressed concern for Jane’s own biological children.
OP truthfully explained her sister’s plan and prior exploitative behavior, leading officials to reject the household as unsuitable for fostering or adoption.
The relatives defending the scheme only reinforced how dangerously they viewed traumatized teenagers as grateful labor instead of children needing care.
She tried ordering a free live-in nanny through foster care, then acted shocked when the background check actually checked her background.
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