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Woman Takes Dream Trip After Years Of Babysitting For Free, Sis Calls Her Selfish And Throws A Fit
If you had to choose between your dream trip and babysitting a couple of kids for free, what would your choice be? I think it’s pretty obvious.
But see, being the “reliable one” in the family is cool until it starts feeling like a full-time, unpaid internship. Suddenly, every emergency babysitting gig lands on your plate like it’s your actual job. And if you dare to prioritize yourself, you’re accused of treason.
And that’s what one Redditor went through when she refused to babysit her sister’s kids after a lifetime of saying yes and chose to go on a solo trip instead.
More info: Reddit
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Some sisters ask to borrow your clothes, others ask you to babysit their kids and guilt you if you say no
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One woman is labeled a “selfish, awful aunt” after refusing to babysit her sister’s kids again, choosing to go on her dream trip instead
Image credits: rawpixel.com / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman saves up for 5 years, planning her dream solo trip to Europe
Image credits: KamranAydinov / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Despite babysitting her niblings every time her sister asks, the woman is called selfish for spending money on a trip instead of helping her sister again
Image credits: petal_power_99
The woman goes on her dream trip, but comes back to the same entitled sis, who calls her an awful aunt for not babysitting right after she gets back
The OP (original poster), a 28-year-old childless woman, decided it was finally time to cash in on her dream. After 5 years of saving up, she booked her very first solo trip to Europe. Think cobblestone streets, buttery croissants, and finally not having to chase after anyone under the age of 6.
But instead of congrats or bon voyage texts, she got guilt, rage, and a touch of emotional blackmail, all courtesy of her older sister. See, her sister is a mom of two young kids — adorable, sure, but also exhausting. And somehow, over the years, our OP had slowly become the go-to unpaid babysitter.
Need a weekend off? Text your sister. Want to go shopping in peace? Text your sister. Last-minute date night? You guessed it — text your sister. And despite having her own life, the OP kept stepping in, canceling plans, and being there for her sis.
But apparently, the one time she dared to put herself first, she received drama and shaming. Sis dearest actually told her she was selfish for spending money on a vacation instead of helping out again. And while our jet-setting aunt didn’t back down, she came home from her solo trip to find the same old pattern: “Take the kids Saturday.”
Except this time, she said no. And that’s when the real fireworks began. Accusations flew — she was “a selfish, awful aunt.” Because apparently, being a good sibling now means putting your own needs in the shredder forever. So, is our poster a jerk for refusing to babysit? I’m going with “no” on this one.
Image credits: Camandona / Freepik (not the actual photo)
It’s one thing to step in during an emergency; it’s another to become a stand-in parent without any agreement or appreciation. When someone expects you to rearrange your life to meet their needs, that’s entitlement, that spicy little cocktail of expectation and zero gratitude.
Entitlement in families is when people believe they deserve your time, energy, money or help, just because they’re related to you. Often it comes from assigned roles, like the “responsible sibling” or “built-in helper,” and suddenly you’re expected to drop everything because “that’s just what you do.” And when you dare to say no? That’s when guilt-tripping comes in.
Ah yes, the classic guilt trip, a timeless family recipe passed down through generations. “After everything I’ve done for you…” or “You don’t care about your niece and nephew?” Sound familiar? Guilt-tripping is the intentional manipulation of someone’s emotions, which works by pulling on their heartstrings until they’re too guilty to say no.
It can be a powerful motivator, you know? But it shouldn’t be the currency of your relationships. When someone uses love or obligation as leverage, it’s not love; it’s basically undercover control. So, don’t cancel your dreams for people who only call when they need something. Take the trip, enjoy your weekend, and next time they try to guilt you, just smile and say, “Sorry, I already have plans…with myself.”
What do you think of this story? Was the poster a jerk for refusing to babysit her sister’s kids and going on a trip? Drop your thoughts and comments below!
Netizens side with the woman, saying she is not a jerk for refusing to babysit, as her sister is taking advantage of her
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What do you think ?
Enlee Jones 5 months ago
OP doesn't exist to be the sister's babysitter. Go ahead and take all the trips!
Tabitha 5 months ago (edited)
OP should be perpetually unavailable. Go very LC. Screen calls and let family and unknown numbers (flying monkeys) go to voicemail. Don’t reply if you don’t want to. Make, and keep, her own plans. Put her foot down—-on her sister’s neck if necessary. “NO!” is a complete sentence all by itself. She doesn’t have to explain, and she can hang up if they start b******g. Do NOT listen to their guilt tripping horseshit. Sister is the kids’ mother. SHE chose to have them, SHE has the responsibility to take care of them. If that means she cannot do something she wants to do, or she has to haul all of them around to run errands, well that’s something she should’ve thought about before she had them. That is the price of parenthood—-and where is the father in this? Or is it fathers? Is he/are they in the picture here? Either way, fathers can, and should, be responsible for taking care of their children just like mothers are. So can grandparents who try to join the guilt tripping because they don’t want to babysit either. OP should start looking into moving so far away from her family—-plus not telling them she’s leaving and never revealing her new address on social media or to anyone she can’t trust to not trot right over to tell her family—-so that they can’t just dump the kids on her whenever they please. In the meantime, if sister tries just leaving the kids at OP’s doorstep after OP says no, then OP needs to call CPS on sister for child abandonment. Probably should do that right before moving across the country, considering the hell that family who knows where she lives can bring down on her. I’m 64. When I turned 18 in November 1978, I started making plans to leave home. My older brothers helped me, and in January 1979, I packed my bags and one of my brothers put me on a plane to fly cross country to stay with one of my other brothers and his family until I got on my feet. Once I got my own place, I paid extra to have an unlisted phone number, so my parents couldn’t find me or call me. Granted, everyone wasn’t as easily reachable back then. We didn’t have cellphones and there was no social media, so finding someone wasn’t as easy as it is today. But if you’re smart and careful and keep a low profile. you can still be unreachable to people you want nothing to do with. I wish OP luck in shaking off her selfish, entitled sister and selfish, enabler parents, but still managing to be a good aunt to her niblings. They’ll need her when they hit 18, and try to get away from their selfish mother and grandparents.
barbara Nivens 5 months ago
Continue saying No. Just No, every time. Tell mom and dad they're welcome to babysit their grandkids. Your sister and Bil chose to have them, not your. It's not your problem. "There's people called babysitters out there. I recommend finding a couple because I'm done."
Enlee Jones 5 months ago
OP doesn't exist to be the sister's babysitter. Go ahead and take all the trips!
Tabitha 5 months ago (edited)
OP should be perpetually unavailable. Go very LC. Screen calls and let family and unknown numbers (flying monkeys) go to voicemail. Don’t reply if you don’t want to. Make, and keep, her own plans. Put her foot down—-on her sister’s neck if necessary. “NO!” is a complete sentence all by itself. She doesn’t have to explain, and she can hang up if they start b******g. Do NOT listen to their guilt tripping horseshit. Sister is the kids’ mother. SHE chose to have them, SHE has the responsibility to take care of them. If that means she cannot do something she wants to do, or she has to haul all of them around to run errands, well that’s something she should’ve thought about before she had them. That is the price of parenthood—-and where is the father in this? Or is it fathers? Is he/are they in the picture here? Either way, fathers can, and should, be responsible for taking care of their children just like mothers are. So can grandparents who try to join the guilt tripping because they don’t want to babysit either. OP should start looking into moving so far away from her family—-plus not telling them she’s leaving and never revealing her new address on social media or to anyone she can’t trust to not trot right over to tell her family—-so that they can’t just dump the kids on her whenever they please. In the meantime, if sister tries just leaving the kids at OP’s doorstep after OP says no, then OP needs to call CPS on sister for child abandonment. Probably should do that right before moving across the country, considering the hell that family who knows where she lives can bring down on her. I’m 64. When I turned 18 in November 1978, I started making plans to leave home. My older brothers helped me, and in January 1979, I packed my bags and one of my brothers put me on a plane to fly cross country to stay with one of my other brothers and his family until I got on my feet. Once I got my own place, I paid extra to have an unlisted phone number, so my parents couldn’t find me or call me. Granted, everyone wasn’t as easily reachable back then. We didn’t have cellphones and there was no social media, so finding someone wasn’t as easy as it is today. But if you’re smart and careful and keep a low profile. you can still be unreachable to people you want nothing to do with. I wish OP luck in shaking off her selfish, entitled sister and selfish, enabler parents, but still managing to be a good aunt to her niblings. They’ll need her when they hit 18, and try to get away from their selfish mother and grandparents.
barbara Nivens 5 months ago
Continue saying No. Just No, every time. Tell mom and dad they're welcome to babysit their grandkids. Your sister and Bil chose to have them, not your. It's not your problem. "There's people called babysitters out there. I recommend finding a couple because I'm done."
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