I had my gf s**t on me for fetching my kids... she's not a teenager. She's in her 30s. Some people do not understand the relative roles of family, kids, and partners, and which responsibility comes first.

If I was the son's girlfriend and we were out celebrating when his dad calls, I would tell the boy to go and pick up his little sister! I would not go on with that date or the whole relationship if he refused. Gives you a good idea what kind of father/partner he will become obe day...

My mother never learned how to drive (I do not know why). The moment I hit 16 and had my license, guess who got to take Mom grocery shopping (or anywhere else) after school, while Dad was at work? S**t happens. At least this kid didn’t have to be “the other” family chauffeur.

The day one of my teenagers hangs up on me is the day i do not pay their phone bill for that month. May kids are pretty good and respectful, though. Dont see that happening.

Yeah, son is TA here. Thing is, though, where I live, 16-year-olds have provisional licenses. They're allowed to drive, but they're not allowed to transport minors, so son wouldn't have been able to pick up sister anyway. Yeah, sometimes things come up, but dad's boss is the other a-hole here -- what he did was a power play, just to show dad who has the power in the office. I had a boss that used to pull this s**t all the time, and since my coworker was a single mom, I got to know her son pretty well. She had to pick him up and come back to the office a couple times a month.

I live with my parents and I have willingly missed a few days of work and cancelled a few dates to stay home with my young sister (she's 8) when she is sick because I'm the only one who is able to stay home with her at the time. My parents have raised us in the understanding that we are a unit and to keep the machine running smoothly, sometimes we have to step into different roles. I hope to teach my nieces and nephews this one day.

Oh man, I just tell my boss I'm leaving. I don't ask. The file will wait. No one is gonna die if their title commitment is a day late. Seriously managers who have nothing other than their jobs to love are the literal worst part of working in the corporate world.

There's a good chance he didn't tell his boss he had to pick up Liza. He just assumed his son would take care of it and he needed the overtime. If an adult makes your child feel uncomfortable for ANY reason, trust their instincts and don't make them spend time with them. It doesn't have to be anything criminal or creepy, but trust your child. He's not the AH at all, but I can see why he asked about it here.

Why is a 8 y.o. getting out of school so late? The guy said "maths" so I'm guessing he's European but is it normal for kids to get out of school that late? Extra curricular stuff in the US (sports, scouts) are usually out around 4:30-5pm at that age. Even in high school when I took the late bus after club stuff I was home by 5:30pm.

I had to pick up my niece many times when I was a teen. People work, things happen. We all pitch in. I'd definitely ground my kid too from using my car if they wouldn't take 30min out of a date to go pick up and drop off a sibling. Plus, dude looks like a major AH to his girlfriend now!

Boss is an ah, but the sons response is pretty ah as well. Upset is understandable, but that is not

He could have given the son some warning I guess if he knew he might be late, but son was very unhelpful!!

The son should have turned off his phone after he met up with his girlfriend. That would have solved the issue.

I would have just left to get my kid and then gone back to the office. I understand needing a job, but my kids are more important than anything else. Also, the boss sounds like the one from Office Space. Unreasonable prick. As for the math problem mom...I get it. You can't unbreak a child's spirit, and it's cruel to actively make a child feel stupid by asking things you know they don't know.

The teen sounds like he has some pent up resentment towards his father / family situation. Counseling?

As a single parent sometimes you have to rely on the oldest kids to help out with the younger ones and it’s the least they can do for the family. My kids have a big age gap with two now being adults and one barely a teen. If I need the older ones to do something for younger one they will do it with no problems. Especially if it’s an emergency situation like what this dad had. Even when the older ones were teens they never gave me a problem about it

Honestly, NAH except for the boss. The son could have stepped up, but, well, he's a teenager. There's a few factors that I think make this whole thing reflect less harshly upon the son. First, the op admitted that duties like this had never been discussed before. Second, this was supposed to be a special occasion for him, an anniversary. Just six months, but things like that matter to you when you're 17. Third, the kid is 17. He's right on the division between adult and child. He's not fully developed yet, so you can't come down in him too harsh I think. The real AH is the boss.

Well my brother and sister woukd loom after me occasionally when needed (im the baby of the family) and I'd ask my oldest to occasionally help out with her little sister. There is a big difference between expecting a a sibling to be the makeshift parent and just helping occasionally. The son is a royal moron because it seeks he forgot that his father has been raising them himself which i can say as a single parent (especially a male with full care of rhe kids) those of us with a conscience don't like asking anyone for help but we have no choice. So maybe give the boy a taste of what it'd be like if dad didnt have a job or instead just paid a nanny which costs alot of money since the boy thinks dad should d9 that and im pretty sure the lad would be moaning from the hills about what he can't get while ignoring rhe fact dad cant aff9rd it now because he pays a nanny. Teens are as a rule self absorbed (we were all teens so we all remember being self absorbed in many areas)

What happened to children doing what their parents tell them to do? Who cares if he was on a date with his gf he's 17 living in your house. You provide food, shelter and an added bonus A CAR!!! When you are a part of a family you help out plane and simple. Teen was being disrespectful and used cop out of his dad failed as a parent, no he failed his 8 year old sister by leaving her stranded. Oh and by the way a childhood friends father scolded me on the amount of scars I had on my legs and that was traumatic, schools over the little girl shouldn't have to be quizzed in math on the ride home, very humiliating SMH.

I loved the response from SweetMercy. Damn, this father has an entitled son who can't be expected to help out running an errand or two and it involves his own sister?? I would HATE living in that household. S**t happens and the son seriously needs to be put in his place. Stupid kid.

I agree about the boss. Does the boss know OP is a single father? Maybe. Maybe not. I think that OP. dropped the ball on the rules of borrowing the car. I read the comments about how 16 year olds have to be team players etc... however, not every 50 year old has a flexible mind or the ability to switch in the middle of something ... and this kid is 16. Part of the preparation his father could for adulthood is to cover what to do in an emergency - such as, if I can't do it you'll have to pick up your sister bo matter what. And, maybe 3 times a year is not enough for the son to have such a responsibility. Maybe he needs to pick up his sister once per week.

OPs boss is the AH. OP is a parent. He has a responsibility to go collect his kid at the end of the day. The boss can't make him prioritize work over that. OP needs to stand up to that boss and say that he absolutely WILL be leaving to get his kid from school when the need arises. OPs son is not this girl's parent. That being said, OPs son is still a minor, still living with OP, and is enjoying the privilege of using OPs car. If OP occasionally needs something from him involving driving, it is a fair trade off and something the son absolutely should do. The boss is in the wrong for pressing the point, OP is in the wrong for caving (and not MAKING the time to gain a casual relationship with the other parents at the school so he can call one of them in an emergency, like if the daughter needs to be picked up from school but the dad is busy dealing with a problem/accident/legal issue with the son who is driving age--as we all know accidents DO happen) and the son is an AH for not helping.

Gonna say soft ESH here. The thing is, what would have happened if you hadn't had a 17yr old to make do it in your stead? He didn't chose to have the daughter, OP did. He didn't sign up to be responsible, OP did. This whole "children have obligations to their families" is BS. Grow a spine and tell your boss that your daughter needs you to pick her up because that is what you would have done if you didn't have the option to dump the responsibility on your son. You had other options, didn't like them, and chose to make your son the one with the problem instead. On the other hand, the kid is borrowing the car. You should reciprocate when being allowed a privilege like that. Secondly, there was no reason to speak to his father that way given the situation.

Tell your manager you HAVE to leave because nobody else can pick up your child and it's a family emergency. When you eventually lose your job because it's not flexible enough to accommodate the work-life balance required by the primary caregiver, get a low wage job with flexible hours. Slowly sink into poverty. Lose your home and car. Wind up on welfare while strangers say bad things about you living off their tax dollars. Welcome to the life of a woman.

There's an order here. In first place, there's boss. You can not simply spring additional work on someone at no notice. People have lives and responsibilities. In second place, there's the dad for failing to point this out to the boss. His responsibility to his child is higher than the boss. Emergencies will happen, and he needs to have a pool of people he can call on to look after the daughter. He also needs to talk with his son, and get things straight.

I love how you throw the burden on the son because you aren't able to set a good work/life balance. Your 8yr old should be your priority not your job. And if you are admitting you are prioritizing your job over picking up your daughter how can money still possibly be tight. You need a new job or a reality check. Teenagers aren't going to drop their plans because you can't manage your own. Your an adult grow up

I feel like Max's behavior didn't just come out of the blue. There has perhaps been a pattern of things that he didn't feel his father should be asking him to do (like stop his anniversary date to do something the father was supposed to be responsible for). The dad may not even realize that Max has been feeling this way. I think they need to sit down and talk it out, and the father needs to explain to Max some of the pressure he's under and what his expectations are for Max going forward. I bet they can work it out.

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I am african nd l was brought up to not let my kids dictate to me how dey want to live in my hse.At 16,u tell me u are going on a date nd dat u cant help in de hse.Who gave u de authority to start dating at 16 in de 1st place?Buddy u didnt do anything wrong except maybe u hv given him too much room from de beginning.I dont beat my kids but dey will not dare do dis.