It can be difficult to set boundaries with family members. Sometimes, one needs some "me time" and does not want to be available for favors. One childfree woman found herself at the receiving end of her sister-in-law's wrath because she would not help her brother watch his own children for a couple of hours.
The angry sister-in-law wanted to get her nails done. It is unclear why the brother could not handle his own children for a couple of hours. The childfree sister just wanted to spend a relaxing day in the pool with her husband. She took to Reddit to make sure she was not in the wrong here.
This brother expects his sister to help him.
This auntie was looking forward to some time with her husband when her brother called unexpectedly. “My older brother has three kids under 5, I myself have no children by choice,” she explains. “Him and I we never very close but he is always asking for help with the kids. Saturday was a beautiful day, my husband and I had plans to spend the day in our pool. At 10 am he calls me and asks me to come over and help with the kids for an hour or two because his wife is going to get her nails done. I declined and told him what my plans were.” That might have been her first mistake.
When she declined, he got mad.
The sister stayed true to her plans and declined her brother’s request for help. He did not take it well. “He has a fit saying that I could come help him and then go home and still spend all day in the pool, which is true he only lives about 15 mins from me, but honestly I just didn't want to have to spend the morning with his kids and was really not in the mood to babysit so I again said no hung up and had a nice day with my husband.”
More from LittleThings: Woman Starts Getting High At Family Parties So She Doesn't Have To Watch Her In-Laws' Kids
Then the sister-in-law got involved.
“Later that day I got a nasty text from SIL about not helping out, she was pissed she has to cancel her nail appointment, she pretty much called me an immature POS for not helping,” the sister continued. “My mom thinks I could have just went over for an hour or two since it really wouldn't have messed with my plans and I had no real reason not too. Now I feel like a jerk so IDK I thought I would come here.” Reddit was all too happy to weigh in.
The sister had every right to say no.
The forum sided with the sister. People could not believe the dad could not handle his own children for a couple of hours. This was not the sister’s fault or responsibility.
The forum is on her side.
"Daddio can't PARENT his children for a few hours to give his wife a little 'me time' so it's OP's fault?" wrote one user. "Tell me how much this man dislikes kids without pointing to his failure to have a good relationship with his younger sister."
"Brother is the epitome of a lazy unpresent incompetent husband who for some reason feels no shame about not being able to care for his own children for a couple hours by himself," agreed another. "And this has been said all over reddit but it's not babysitting to care for your own children. It's parenting. It's time he stepped up and became a parent in action, not just in name."
Perhaps they had other ideas.
One Redditor thinks the brother and sister-in-law had more nefarious plans. “I got the impression that brother and SIL were plotting to leave her stuck with the kids much longer than an hour or two,” the commenter wrote. “I mean, that being the reason SIL said she cancelled her nail appointment; because the two of them actually had their own plans and asked for one or two hours of OP's time, knowing they were going to be gone far longer.” It is possible.
Don't give up too much information.
Another user offered some sage advice. Just say no next time to avoid all the drama. “[The OP is] also giving them WAY too much information about her personal life,” the person explains. “Next time brother calls, she just needs to say, 'We're already committed this morning.' And then, if she wants to be nice, 'I hope we can see you all soon!' Less information is better here. Information only gives them something to object to.”
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
