There are all types of families out there. Whether through adoption, death, divorce, or other circumstances, a family isn’t always made up of one mom, one dad, and their biological children. Recently, a Reddit user shared that she lets her teen brother who she raised since he was an infant call her “mom” — but others think it’s weird.
In December 2024, the mother took to the AITA subreddit to vent about the situation. The original poster (OP) explained that she (a 25-year-old female) stepped up to care for her three younger brothers at a very young age. This included her youngest brother since he was a newborn. However, others think it’s strange that he considers her his mother.
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The OP explained that she has cared for her brothers since she was 8, after her mom died.
“My mother died when i was 8 and my father has been horribly absent since then. i have 3 younger brothers 26m 22m and 17m but this will be mainly about my 17 year old brother,” the Reddit user explained.
The OP detailed that she “literally 95% of the work” in raising her brothers after her mother died. “The only thing my father did was give me money weekly for me to buy food and other necessities for us three.”
When she was 13, her father brought home her youngest brother.
“When i was 13 my dad brought home my youngest brother who was a few months old,” the OP continued. “i didn’t know he existed much less that my father was seeing someone. me and my father had a horrible fight that night and we have rarely ever talked since then.”
Her brothers all view the OP differently based on how old they were when she took over caregiving.
The OP detailed that her oldest brother “remembered a life before our mother died for the longest bit.” Although she raised him from a young age, he “most definitely never viewed me in a motherly role.”
Her middle brother was a baby when their mother died and “would occasionally” call her mom.
“But i would shut it down mostly and remind him of our mother and that im just ‘sissy,’ she wrote. “He definitely viewed me more in a motherly role than jake did but he still viewed me as a sister.”
With the OP’s youngest brother, he “100% views me as a mom and i look at him as my son.”
“I know im not his mom but i know absolutely nothing about her. i have her first and last name but cannot find anything about her anywhere,” she explained. “When he was young and started calling me mom i would try to remind him that im not his mom im his sister. but after a bit i just gave up.”
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Recently, a co-worker found it 'very strange' that she lets her teen brother call her "mom."
In the Reddit thread, the OP detailed how a co-worker saw a text message and thought it was weird that she lets her teen brother call her “mom.”
“I was on my break at work yesterday and i texted the group chat with my husband (30m), daughter (10f) and henry asking what they wanted for dinner and what they wanted picked up from the store,” she wrote. “Henry texted ‘just some chips, thanks mom 🙂’ and i thought nothing of it. then my coworker (24f) looked over my shoulder and found it very strange that my brother was calling me mom.”
The OP said that “60% of the people she has told agree” that it’s odd.
“I’m just simply not understanding the issue to this,” she concluded, asking for Reddit users’ opinions.
Reddit users agreed: She is NTA.
In the comments, Reddit users resoundingly agreed that the OP was not wrong.
“Your co-wokers are idiots. He was given to you when he was a few months old, you were the mother figure in his WHOLE awared [sic] life,” one person wrote. “Other than the fact he is your half-brother on paper, you are in fact, his mom. He cried to you at night, got comfort from you, was fed and cleaned by you. He know no other parent other than you.”
Another Reddit user agreed, writing, “NTA.. it’s a massive compliment, to your ability to raise your brother, that he’s comfortable giving you the title, for the position you fill in his life. ”
Meanwhile, another person pointed out, “Your ARE his mum. The only mum he’s ever known. Many mothers out there are less of a mother than you are, and they get called the name.”
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