It feels nice to help your relatives out when they need a hand. But it’s sometimes hard to gauge when they overstep their boundaries when they ask you for a favor. Like it or not, the reality is that your family members aren’t completely pure and selfless: some of them will try to dump their responsibilities on your shoulders. How you react to this is up to you.

One redditor, u/germanwarflower, vented on the r/entitledparents online community about how her aunt expected her to be completely sober at a big family function. Instead of letting the young redditor party and have fun, her aunt wanted her to take over her and her husband’s responsibilities and babysit their kids. Well, the OP wasn’t having any of it. Read on for the full story.

Being the default babysitter at every single family get-together can be exhausting and annoying

Image credits: OlgaGimaeva (not the actual photo)

One young woman pushed back at her aunt’s attempts to dump the responsibility on her at yet another party

Image credits: imagesourcecurated (not the actual photo)

Image credits: [deleted]

There are always limits to favors. At some point, you feel like you’re being used

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

Redditor u/germanwarflower wasn’t a fan of being told what she could and could not do. The excuse that her uncle couldn’t look after his own kids because he was tired from work wouldn’t fly because the OP worked full-time as well. What’s more, her aunt’s demand that she needed to have some ‘adult time’ also didn’t sweeten the deal.

The redditor decided that instead of being the scapegoat babysitter, she would simply enjoy her time at her grandmother’s 80th birthday. So she decided to embrace the fun (aka immediately downed a can of beer) instead of being the only one burdened with the babysitting duties. Her aunt wasn’t a fan of this, however, some of the other family members thought the entire situation was hilarious.

Many of the internet users who read the story were appalled that anyone would push their kids on someone else. Most were in agreement that the aunt and uncle were acting entitled. Some redditors even suggested that if someone were to be treated as a babysitter, they should also be paid and be given an advance notice that they’d need their services.

Obviously, nobody’s advocating for ignoring any and all requests for help from a relative. However, a lot depends on the circumstances and how someone asks for a favor. If it’s far from the first time when you’re saddled with (unpaid) babysitting duties at family get-togethers just because you’re a young woman, then you need to set some healthy boundaries.

Similarly, if someone calls you out for having a good time (just like they are) instead of picking up their responsibilities, they’re really not starting things out on the right foot there. What exactly do you get out of the situation because, clearly, your relatives’ gratitude isn’t on the list? Yes, yes, we know that everyone’s ‘supposed’ to be altruistic and never expect even a ‘thank you,’ but there’s a difference between kindness and being taken advantage of. Unfortunately, u/germanwarflower deleted her Reddit account, so Bored Panda was unable to get in touch with her.

Excessive drinking is incredibly dangerous to one’s health

Image credits: Helena Lopes (not the actual photo)

Nobody is advocating for reckless drinking either here. The OP only chugged the beer because she was trying to prove a point to her relatives. It might not have been the most mature way of handling things (having an open and honest but friendly talk would have worked better in the long run), but it served its purpose. However, drinking too much alcohol too quickly can be dangerous.

The NHS warns that men and women should not drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week. One unit here is equivalent to 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol and is the average amount of alcohol that the typical adult can process in an hour. “Spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week. If you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week,” the NHS says.

In the meantime, the CDC warns that excessive alcohol consumption is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. It’s responsible for shortening the lives of those who die due to it by an average of 26 years. Excessive drinking means drinking 4 or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and 5 or more for men. Meanwhile, heavy drinking is consuming 8 or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more drinks for men.

The CDC also warns that there’s no safe limit of alcohol consumption for anyone younger than 21 years of age or pregnant women. The sad reality is that 1 in 6 Americans binge drinks and puts themselves at great risk of heart disease, stroke, various cancers, high blood pressure, injuries, and poisoning.

As we’ve recently covered on Bored Panda, some of the warning signs that someone has issues with drinking and should consult a healthcare professional include a loss of control, experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and having alcohol negatively affect parts of your life. There is a vast difference between enjoying the occasional drink in a social setting and using alcohol as a crutch or coping mechanism.

Here’s how the internet reacted to the tale of family drama

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