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Woman Stands Firm Against Babysitting Nephew Without Notice, Sparks Drama
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Woman Stands Firm Against Babysitting Nephew Without Notice, Sparks Drama

Woman Stands Firm Against Babysitting Nephew Without Notice, Sparks DramaWoman Dumps Her Toddler On Her Sibling, Gets Upset They Took Him To His GrandparentsMom Dumps Toddler On Sister Without Warning And Leaves, She Won’t Babysit“Just A Few Hours”: Woman Refuses To Care For Nephew Last Minute, Family Turns Against Her“Am I The Jerk For Dumping My Sister’s Toddler Onto Our Parents And Refusing To Babysit?”Person Is Not Equipped To Babysit Their Nephew, Sister Upset They Couldn’t “Make The Sacrifice”Woman Drops Nephew Off With Grandparents After Being Forced To Babysit, Family Drama EnsuesFamily Turns Against Person For Refusing To Babysit Nephew When Parents Didn’t Have Other Options“Just A Few Hours”: Sister Rejects Last-Minute Babysitting, Tensions FlareFamily Plays Hot Potato With Toddler As No One Wants To Babysit, Mom’s Sister Seeks Advice
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It’s virtually impossible to belong to a family without getting the short end of the stick. There’s so much compromise that someone inevitably has to sacrifice.

But when Liya (who’s known on Reddit as Ayumi_Doll) was unexpectedly put in a position to babysit their nephew despite having a hectic work schedule, and a multitude of other obstacles, they couldn’t.

Faced with the dilemma of balancing personal responsibilities and their family’s expectations, Liya chose the former and unloaded the boy to his grandparents, but as they explained in a post on ‘Am I the [Jerk]?‘, that sparked significant backlash.

This person’s sister pressured them into babysitting her toddler

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

But they just couldn’t do it

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Image credits: Sarah Chai (not the actual photo)

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Image source:  ayumi_doll

Many parents choose to include relatives in the everyday care of their child, but there have to be limits

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

Grandparents are becoming an increasingly important source of child care in many places around the world.

In the United States, for example, research by the University of Chicago notes that 60 percent of them have looked after their grandchildren during a 10-year period, and 70 percent of those who did provided care for two years or more.

“Our findings show that different groups of grandparents are likely to provide different types of care. Importantly grandparents with less income and less education, or who are from minority groups, are more likely to take on care for their grandchildren,” said Linda Waite, the Lucy Flower Professor in Sociology at UChicago and an expert on aging.

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So the fact that Liya and their sister’s folks wanted to take a break from it is completely understandable. But pressuring your sibling into it without any heads up is not.

The primary solution to their frustration is to start drawing boundaries and only care for the kid when it suits them, and for their parents to do likewise. Maybe this would finally compel “Risa” to find a sustainable plan B for when all family members are unavailable.

Let’s hope the family will find an arrangement in which everyone feels their needs are being met. Otherwise, they run the risk of building resentment and animosity towards one another, with the child ending up caught in the middle of their conflicts.

As people reacted to the story, its author provided more information to them

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The vast majority said Liya did nothing wrong

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Ieva Pečiulytė

Ieva Pečiulytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

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Ieva Pečiulytė

Ieva Pečiulytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

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PeakyBlinder
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not your child, not your responsibility - if your parents want to be mad at someone it should be your sister

Alexandra
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly. People who say "It takes a village" are people who try to saddle someone else with their responsibility. It doesn't take a village: it just takes two parents who take responsibility for their child. All the rest is just a bonus.

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone who is 100% WFH it really annoys when people think I can do anything I want anytime at home. I'm working!

Ample Aardvark
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, they seem to think because you don't work in an office you can drop everything at anytime! I do have breaks to do house chores or go for a walk, but I also work evenings and weekends to make up the hours

Load More Replies...
LonelyLittleLeafSheep
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Your failure to plan ahead for the needs of your crotch goblins is not my problem."

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PeakyBlinder
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not your child, not your responsibility - if your parents want to be mad at someone it should be your sister

Alexandra
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly. People who say "It takes a village" are people who try to saddle someone else with their responsibility. It doesn't take a village: it just takes two parents who take responsibility for their child. All the rest is just a bonus.

Load More Replies...
Bernd Herbert
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone who is 100% WFH it really annoys when people think I can do anything I want anytime at home. I'm working!

Ample Aardvark
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, they seem to think because you don't work in an office you can drop everything at anytime! I do have breaks to do house chores or go for a walk, but I also work evenings and weekends to make up the hours

Load More Replies...
LonelyLittleLeafSheep
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Your failure to plan ahead for the needs of your crotch goblins is not my problem."

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