‘Spoiled Brat’ or Good Daughter? She Demanded Money for Babysitting Her Little Sister, But Parents Refused
Family comes with a lot of responsibilities. Some we know to expect, and others we are unprepared for or don’t think we deserve. There are a lot of stories about children feeling entitled to their parents’ properties, wealth, and so on. But sometimes, it’s the other way around. Parents, too, get entitled to their children’s time, energy, and resources.
Granted, they raised them and provided for their every need up to that point. Still, some fail to realize that when their children get to a certain age, they become adults. They become their own person. Courtesy demands that they be treated as such, without parents imposing on them out of a misconception of family and duty. OP’s story is one that involves family and is therefore a sensitive case. Still, one must call a spade a spade when they have to.
Here’s what went down.
The Trip
OP is a 20-year-old lady with an 11-year-old sister. The weekend before, her grandfather passed away. Her parents flew out for his funeral. But they couldn’t travel with the 11-year-old. I’m guessing they couldn’t hire a babysitter for the weekend either, and so they had to give the duty of watching over her to her older sister, OP.
OP agreed to watch her. However, it was not going to be for free. Who doesn’t love a business-minded person? Her younger sister was going to spend the weekend in her apartment while their parents were away. When she asked her parents how much they would pay her, they said they would let her know when they got back because they didn’t have much money then and the trip was going to change that.
Contract Breach
Her sister stayed for the weekend, and for that weekend, she spent quite an amount of money. She had to buy kid-friendly groceries, but in the end, they had a lot of fun together. I’d see that as a free (well, not free) opportunity to bond with her sister.
The weekend would soon come to an end, and on Sunday night, her parents were there to pick them up. They started to leave without paying her, and she reminded them about the agreement. They got all awkward about it, then they told her that it was not necessary after all the things they had done for her (heard this one before) and that she should be happy to help take care of her sister.
OP wasn’t backing down. A deal is a deal, isn’t it? She insisted that they needed to pay her. She also told them all that she bought, including a box of pizza, and how she called out of work to watch her. And time is money, too. Think of the one she lost.
Acting Spoiled
Instead of honoring the agreement, OP’s parents told her that she was acting like a spoiled brat. They said she shouldn’t act like watching her sister and helping her sister was a chore. And with that, they left.
She then texted them, giving them an ultimatum: they had to pay her within the week or she would no longer be helping them out. Their reply? “We are your parents, not a bank. Sorry for your confusion, but there was never a money agreement. Since it was such a big deal to you, we won’t need your help again.”
That was cold. All she wanted was what she was promised, and that’s why doing business with family is not always the best. Even though there was no solid agreement, she doesn’t think she’s acting spoiled. She thinks should have been paid.
What Others Think
People are on OP’s side. While not everyone agrees that she should be paid for her taking care of her sister, they do agree that she should be reimbursed for the money she spent.
One person said, “You should be reimbursed for the groceries and the salary you lost. You shouldn’t get paid for your time, that’s just helping out family. Maybe if you make it clear to them that you only need to have your expenses covered they’ll understand.
Your parents are a–holes for the ‘we’ll talk about money when we get home’ move.”
u/BenderBenRodriguez stands on the fact that they had an agreement from the start and her parents were wrong to go back on it. They also think that her younger sister may be family, but she was “not her kid”:
“The condition at the beginning was that they would pay her for her time. They reneged on that agreement. It would be different if there wasn’t already an agreement (even without a set amount) but this is just going back on it.
I also don’t think she was ever obligated to spend the time. It’s a nice thing to do but ultimately her choice. They could have found a babysitter or someone else to do it if they were looking for free. If OP’s condition was payment, she should be paid. It’s not her kid.”
As far as others are concerned, OP is not at fault here. If they weren’t going to pay her, they could have said it from the start. Going back on your word is never a good look, don’t you agree?
This thread inspired this post.
