Woman Who Kicked Out Her Sister After She Refused to Babysit Nephew Praised

In a post shared on Reddit this month under the username u/Otherwise_Pepper_24, a woman explained that her younger sister goes to college in the same city where she lives with her family, and because she had some issues with her roommates, the sister recently moved in with them.

Her sister doesn't work and gets money from their parents for books and groceries, but even so, she hardly ever contributes to household expenses.

According to a survey carried out in October by personal finance site Credit Karma, almost one-third of millennials and Gen Zers, over age 18, still get some form of financial support from their parents, and more than half of the parents with adult children say they still live together.

The poster went on to say that because their nanny recently told her she had to leave her job because of a medical condition that she needs to start treatment for, she asked her sister to temporarily take care of her 5-year-old son, just to give her time to find a replacement, but she refused.

She wrote: "So, my son comes back from school at around 3pm/3:30. My husband works until 6 and I work until 5 although sometimes I have to stay an hour or two extra (this is not normal, maybe three or four times per month when we're behind in a project).

"I asked my sister to babysit our son until we can get a new babysitter giving that she doesn't have classes at that time. She told me she never agreed to babysit when she moved in here and that I should've told her beforehand so she could find somewhere else to live."

Even after she explained to her sister that she would rather not be in this situation and that it's just an emergency arrangement, her sister refused, saying that it would take time from her that she could use to study with her friends.

"I got angry, maybe too angry, so I told her that we never ask anything from her, we helped her because we wanted to be kind with her, and yet she can't even compromise to stay a few hours home just until we find a new babysitter. I ended up telling her she has a week to leave...."

In the end, one of her son's friend's mom ended up taking care of him until they manage to find a babysitter, but her parents and family, who live in a different state, are now mad at her for kicking out her sister, leaving her homeless.

"My sister tried to apologize but I told her I don't want to live with her because she showed me her true colors," she said.

Florence Ann Romano, a personal growth strategist and author of Nanny and Me, told Newsweek that the sister, who is "freeloading," is entirely selfish and without a doubt wrong to have not offered to help.

"If she is unable—mentally or physically—to care for the child, I could understand that," she said. "However, it doesn't sound like that is the case. This contribution to the household should have been a welcome opportunity for the sister to "pay back" their kindness.

"The hosting sister has every right to ask her to leave, for I believe her compassion and understanding is now being taken advantage of. The family is simply going to have to get over it. If they can't comprehend why this is no longer a healthy situation, that's their problem."

The post originally shared on the r/AmItheA****** subreddit, where users discuss their actions with strangers, quickly gained popularity on the platform, receiving more than 12,100 upvotes and 4,300 comments so far.

One user, Broutythecat, commented: "Not The A******]. Everyone voting [The A******] because 'parents must never ask for help' must come from very dysfunctional families. This is not you routinely exploiting your sister, it's asking for help in a sudden moment of need.

"My family is normal and therefore we scramble to help each other when need be. Then again Reddit has been teaching me that family dynamics in the US are apparently weirdly cold, individualistic, selfish, and transactional, so maybe over there we would be the weird ones."

Fianna9 said: "Sister doesn't owe them babysitting services. But OP doesn't owe her room and board. It's an emergency situation and Op is asking for some help just until she finds another sitter. Sis is being really stupid to be so snobbish and unhelpful to the person giving her free food and rent while she's in school. Makes me wonder who the problem roommate actually was..." F***UGalen added: "Your family is welcome to fix her 'homelessness' issue."

And Kintess wrote: "What makes it worse for me is that it's her nephew... Doesn't she like the kid at all? It's like if it was a stranger's child."

And Mrfleas added: "[Not The A******]. However, you are angry because your sister lives the life of a child but is an adult [in] your house. I suggest you breathe and then have a talk with her.

"Ask her why you are obligated to help her but she doesn't feel the need to reciprocate when you are in need of help? Then, if you choose to let her stay, tell her it will no longer be a free ride because what you once did out of love feels unappreciated so now it must be more transactional. You can also tell her you give her one month to move because this is no longer working for you and in order for you not to resent her, you cannot live with her.

"What makes you a villain is the one week. That is hard to do. Tell your parents and other family members that you feel taken advantage of and when they take a side, it shows who they favor in your eyes so please stay out of it. Your sister bit the hand that fed her because your parents did not teach her to be grateful."

Newsweek reached out to u/Otherwise_Pepper_24 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.