It’s hard to witness injustice and not be able to do anything about it. So after Reddit user Imstilllost2024 had a hunch that her sister-in-law was trying to scam her mother-in-law, the woman tried her best to warn the lady.

However, as she explained in her post on the subreddit ‘Entitled People,’ it’s difficult to convince a parent not to help their child, especially when it comes to health and surgery. Which are precisely the false pretenses the manipulative sister-in-law used in her cunning plan.

Breast augmentation can be quite expensive

Image credits: guyswhoshoot / Envato (not the actual photo)

In fact, some people even think it’s worth sacrificing their closest relationships for the procedure

Image credits: DC_Studio / Envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Imstilllost2024

There’s a difference between asking your parents for help and straight-up using them

We managed to get in touch with the woman behind the post and she was kind enough to tell us more about the whole ordeal. “Per the family, there has been a pattern of enabling from my mother-in-law to her daughter for two decades (since the sister-in-law was about 10) prior to this happening,” the Redditor told Bored Panda.

“The family is untraditionally large in numbers and my sister-in-law is the youngest. She was given a car (no one else ever was given a car) and her mom took on her out-of-state student loans (she did not help anyone else through college). There was a well-established pattern that made it almost predictable.”

Young adults in the U.S. are experiencing a very different trajectory than their parents, with more of them hitting key milestones later in life and also taking on more debt, according to a 2024 report from the Pew Research Center.

Because of that, a majority of young adults say they remain financially dependent on their parents to some extent, such as receiving help paying for rent and their mobile phone bills — only about 45% of 18- to 34-year-olds described themselves as completely financially independent from their parents, the study found.

This, however, was not an aid request. It sounded more like extortion.

“From my perspective, she had no intention of paying her mom back,” Imstilllost2024 added. “She seemed entitled to it. She had always verbalized to her mom how she was ashamed of her mom for not being wealthy. Her mom went beyond her means to appease her desires to be from a wealthy family.”

The mother-in-law has to work really hard if she wants to wipe the slate clean. “This is the sad part that I hate talking about. Her mom took out a reverse mortgage on her home to pay off the student loans,” the Redditor explained. “Of course, she also spent money from it on maintaining her home. She eventually paid off the loan with more money from the reverse mortgage. I would say, about 1/3 of the home’s value is now in a reverse mortgage.”

Image credits: Monstera Production / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Psychologist and author of ‘10 Days to a Less Defiant Child‘ Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein says adult children, especially those who are emotionally struggling and lack the ability to have calm, constructive conversations, are known for trying to walk all over their parents.

Just like the Redditor’s sister-in-law, they “assert undue control, manipulate, or take advantage of parents emotionally, financially, or in other ways,” Bernstein explains. “It often involves a lack of consideration for the parents’ needs, feelings, and autonomy, leading to an unhealthy dynamic.”

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As the psychologist explains in his book, empathy-based communication, clear boundaries, and mutual understanding are essential for addressing and resolving issues with adult children and promoting a healthy family dynamic.

“Stop setting yourself up to be on call to automatically respond like a SWAT team, ready to solve the next manufactured, drama-laden crisis,” Bernstein adds.

It’s hard for parents to see their children’s manipulations for what they are, but the consequences of getting sucked in again and again are grim.

“The more you picture yourself looking down at your shared interaction, staying mindful of this toxic dance, the less vulnerable you will be to getting tripped up by it,” Bernstein says. “Whether communicating in person, on the phone, or through text messages, within your mind, rise and watch the toxic guilt being hurled at you from above.”

It was an expensive lesson, but the lady appears to have learned it.

As her story went viral, the woman provided more information in the comments

People were absolutely appalled by her sister-in-law’s behavior

Some also shared their own similar experiences

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