She’s Being Painted As A Monster For Not Taking Her Niece Trick-Or-Treating, But She Thinks Her Sister’s Acting Like She Is A Built-In Babysitter
This 19-year-old woman is currently living at home while she attends college part-time and works on the side. She also has a 26-year-old sister named Emily, who has a 6-year-old daughter, Lily.
She really loves her niece, too, and thinks Lily is great. She just doesn’t appreciate how her sister has a habit of dumping Lily on her at the last minute whenever she wants a break from parenting.
“This has been happening for years now, and no one in the family really questions it because, you know, ‘family helps family,'” she said.
However, she finally hit her breaking point a few days ago after her Halloween plans were threatened.
It all began when Emily approached her and claimed to be unable to take Lily trick-or-treating this year. Apparently, her sister had plans to attend an adult Halloween party with her boyfriend.
So, Emily just assumed that she would be able to take Lily trick-or-treating, and she wasn’t on board.
She and her friends had already made plans weeks ago to visit a haunted house that day. Then, they were supposed to spend the evening watching horror movies. That’s why she turned her sister down and refused to babysit.
“I told Emily no, that she should either take her daughter or figure something else out because I wasn’t available,” she recalled.
Her sister took that as a personal attack and absolutely freaked out on her, accusing her of being selfish and saying that Lily would be “heartbroken” if she didn’t get to go trick-or-treating.
New Africa – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
Her mom took Emily’s side as well and believed she needed to “step up as an aunt,” especially since Lily looked up to her.
She pointed out how she wasn’t just some built-in babysitter, and again, she already had plans with her friends.
“But now, my whole family is treating me like I’m some kind of monster for prioritizing my own life over my niece’s Halloween,” she vented.
It’s also making her feel a little guilty because, on the one hand, she realizes Lily was really excited about the holiday. Yet, on the other hand, she knows it’s not fair for her to drop everything when her sister decides she needs a break.
Nonetheless, she can’t help but wonder if putting her foot down and not taking her niece trick-or-treating really does make her a jerk.
Is it a parent’s responsibility to take their child trick-or-treating or find another option with appropriate notice? How should she handle this?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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