Entitled Son Demands Parent Be “Full-Time Support System” And Let Pregnant GF Move In, Parent Laughs

Pretty much every parent wants to see their child succeed, and they’ll do everything in their power to make sure that happens. The problem is that no matter how hard they try, their kids may end up going down a completely different path.

This is what one parent realized after their “smart” 20-year-old son got his girlfriend pregnant and then demanded a lot of free babysitting and that his partner be allowed to move in immediately. The poster couldn’t believe their son’s audacity and confronted him head-on.

More info: Reddit

It can be tough to set boundaries with entitled children, but it’s important to do so before things get out of hand

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The poster’s son had always been smart, but once he started dating his current girlfriend, he seemed to have rose-colored glasses on regarding her actions

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It became a problem when the woman got knocked up, and the 20-year-old decided to drop out of school, marry her, and let her move into his parent’s house

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The poster refused to let their son and his girlfriend move in, and was even more shocked when the lad demanded full-time childcare in the future

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The author told their son point-blank that if he was grown enough to have a baby and get married, he should be able to move out and manage things on his own

The poster always knew that their son was quite smart since he got a scholarship to a good university and managed everything else well in his life. The only problem was that when it came to his relationship, he seemed to have blinders on about his girlfriend’s behavior, and didn’t mind even when she let him down constantly.

According to professionals, some people seem to have rose-colored glasses in the beginning stages of their relationship, which is why they might keep ignoring persistent red flags. The reason for this is usually because of the feel-good chemicals being released in their brain that might overtake their reasoning.

The author didn’t know how to set their son straight because he didn’t listen to any of the warnings about his girlfriend. Even when he found out that she was pregnant, he immediately decided to drop out of school, get married to her, and let her move into his family’s house.

Although this all must have been shocking for his parent to learn, experts state that expecting dads should step up to the plate by being present and supportive. This might include attending all appointments, listening to their partner, and helping to fulfil their needs, which is exactly what the son seemed to be doing.

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Even though the young man was taking responsibility for getting his girlfriend pregnant, he still expected his parent to take care of everything else, like housing and childcare. He didn’t think to first check in with his guardian about the decision, and immediately demanded they babysit full-time and let his partner move in rent-free.

To understand a bit more about this situation, Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, Ph.D. He is a psychologist, parent and relationship coach, and author with over 34 years of experience helping families. He’s also currently launching a book called ‘Freeing Your Child From Overthinking.’

He explained that “the two most crucial life skills are calming down and solving problems. When anxiety and overthinking take over, they derail both. Parents react, adult children demand, and neither side is truly listening anymore.”

Dr. Jeffrey shared that parents can say, “‘We both know that the more responsibility you take, the better you’ll feel about yourself. I’m happy to support you as long as this stays collaborative and healthy for both of us.’ This keeps the relationship intact while encouraging growth instead of dependence.” 

He added that “when parents model calm, clarity, and boundaries, adult children are far more likely to shift from demanding to collaborative.”

The thing is that the OP took a different route and told their son that if he was grown enough to get married to his pregnant girlfriend, then he could manage things on his own. This meant that he should be able to take responsibility for his living conditions and be able to look after the baby with the help of his partner.

This obviously didn’t go down well with the young man, who was annoyed at his guardian for laughing at his demands. He probably expected them to give in easily, and that his plans would be sorted. Hopefully, this confrontation gave him a much-needed reality check to set him on a more responsible path.

Do you think the author was right to set boundaries with their son? We’d love to hear your honest thoughts on this situation.

Folks sided with the poster and couldn’t believe the audacity of their son to make such requests

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