You’re pretty much expected to go the extra mile for family, but there have got to be some limits in place, or you might end up with a feud on your hands. And let’s face it, nobody needs drama that could have been skipped by setting some simple boundaries.
One woman is at her wits’ end after her younger sister, who moved in two years ago on the condition she would help out with childcare, brazenly backed out of the babysitting deal and has been mooching off her ever since. She took her troubles to an online community.
More info: Reddit
You’re expected to go the extra mile for family, but being asked to go too far can make things awkward for everyone
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One woman’s sister was stuck in a rotten relationship, so she invited her to stay with her and her husband, as long as she picked up babysitting duty for the couple’s kids
Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
It didn’t take long, however, before her sister started complaining that the constant childcare was making her depressed, so the woman found someone else to do it
Image credits: Grinvalds / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Two years later, the woman’s sister was back on her feet, but refused to help out at home, skipping all chores and living rent-free
Image credits: Glad-Price-5340
Then she sent the woman and her husband a text moaning about babysitting again, so now the woman’s asking netizens if she’d be a jerk for kicking her out
When the original poster (OP) took in her troubled younger sister, the arrangement was simple: free housing, access to a car, and a small weekly payment in exchange for babysitting. Two years later, however, the setup spiraled into resentment. OP’s sister stopped helping out altogether, yet still lived rent-free, leaving tension in the household at a boiling point.
Despite agreeing to childcare duties at first, OP’s sister now refuses almost every request and doesn’t chip in with bills, chores, or groceries. What started out as OP’s lifeline for a sibling in need had slowly descended into an exhausting burden.
The breaking point arrived when OP’s sister sent her a long text message while she was out with her husband. She insisted she wasn’t being “ungrateful,” but said she felt “used as a service” and underappreciated. She also argued that watching kids she didn’t choose to have wasn’t her responsibility.
Now OP feels stuck. Her husband is sick and tired of supporting an unhelpful adult, but she’s torn between family loyalty and fairness. She’s since turned to netizens to ask if giving her mooching sister the boot would make her a jerk.
Image credits: prostock-studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
From what OP tells us in her post, her sister seems to be hopelessly entitled. We’ve all met someone like that, right? Folks who strut around like the world owes them something.
So, why do some people think like this? And what’s the best way to deal when they’re a family member? We went digging for some expert insights.
WebMD says entitlement mentality is defined as a sense of deservingness, even when nothing has been done to deserve special treatment. Basically, a “you owe me” attitude.
While it’s not exactly known how this mentality develops, the pros agree it’s a narcissistic personality trait that may rear its ugly head due to social factors. Things like the environment you grew up in, the way your parents treated you, whether adults solved all your problems for you, or how you were treated by authority figures.
Writing for Psychology Today, Abigail Brenner says that sometimes we’re just dropped into situations we have zero control over. Like being related, for example. Apparently, what often makes family members the trickiest to deal with is the fact that they’re connected to us in a more complex and intimate way than friends, colleagues, or neighbors.
Perhaps it’s time for OP to set some reality-checking boundaries, if not month-end marching orders, if her sister refuses to wake up and do some actual adulting.
What do you think? Does OP’s mooching sister deserve the boot, or is her text worth a second look? Share your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, readers all agreed that the woman was not the jerk in the situation, slammed the flaky sister for her audacity, and said she had to go
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