Woman Goes With Her Plans Of The Day Despite Sister Bringing Her Kids To Babysit, Causes Drama

For parents, findingis one of the most difficult tasks of having kids. Some parents can’t even work full time because of it. In a 2023 poll, a quarter of American parentseither they or a family member had to miss work because of childcare issues.

Family members can sometimes help, but it should never be done against their own wishes. That’s why after this woman repeatedlyshe wouldn’t babysit and left when the kids were still brought to her house, many people cheered. “Call CPS next time,” one netizen commented, highlighting how some parents falsely assume family members will.

A woman told her sister she would not babysit her kids, yet she still brought them to her house just as she was leaving

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Standing her ground, she went out with her friends just as planned, leaving a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old home alone

Image credits:

Family members might need to hear a firm “No” if they are to respect boundaries

The most common advice for parents who can’t find childcare is to ask family members for a favor.are a big source of help for many busy parents, as 52% of American grandparentsthey look after their grandkids at least a few hours per week.

Parents trust family members with childcare because they trust them. Family is an important concept in our culture, and it dictates that supporting family members should be a given. However, not all families are equal, and each family comes with their own, sometimes toxic, dynamics.

Somemembers might expect that favors andare a given between families. When a sibling asks to babysit their kids, we might agree without thinking because we feel obligated. But mental health experts say that it’s okay to say ‘No’ sometimes.

Mabel Yiu, MFT,that doing favors for family members shouldn’t come with resentment. “If you have a friend or family member who is always expecting you to run errands or always wants to borrow money from you, let them know that ends now.”

“Tell them nicely yet firmly that you are not comfortable helping in this way anymore. They may get mad for a little while, but eventually, they will learn to respect your time and energy,” Yiu recommended.

There’s nothing wrong with asking family members for help, but taking them for granted can be hurtful and build resentment easily. Respecting boundaries is just as important a personality trait as lending loved ones a hand.

Guilt often prevents us from saying ‘No,’ but here’s how we can get rid of it

Have you ever had that one friend or family member that asks fortoo often? That one person to whom it’s always hard to say “No” to? The truth is that we’re socially conditioned to want to belong and feel like we’re good people.

An associate professor of organizational behavior at Cornell, Vanessa Bohns says that these two things prevent us from saying “No” when we’re asked for help. “And saying no to someone, rejecting someone who needs our help, goes against both of those things,” sheto The New York Times.

Guilt often drives people to agree to favors they’re not particularly excited about. Licensed psychologist Helene Brenner, PhD, explained tothat to ease the guilt after saying “No,” we can ask ourselves: “Will disaster strike if I say ‘No’?”

“More likely, the person who asked you may be temporarily at a loss as to what to do, but will then find some other way to meet whatever need you were fulfilling.”

There’s also nuance to rejecting someone’s request for a favor. When it’s family members, feelings can get hurt really fast, so it’s best to be straightforward but kind. “Try to say no in the most caring way possible: ‘I’m so sorry. I would love to help you with that. But I am so ridiculously busy right now, I just can’t,’” Brenner says, suggesting a possible script.

Many people blamed the mother for not listening to her sister: “She abandoned her children”

Others, however, pointed out that leaving the kids alone was very irresponsible

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Kornelija Viečaitė

Writer,BoredPanda staff

Kornelija Viečaitė

Writer,BoredPanda staff

Hi there, fellow pandas! As a person (over)educated both in social sciences and literature, I’m most interested in how we connect and behave online (and sometimes in real life too.) The human experience is weird, so I try my best to put its peculiarities in writing. As a person who grew up chronically online, I now try to marry two sides of myself: the one who knows too much about MySpace, and the one who can’t settle and needs to see every corner of the world.

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Mantas Kačerauskas

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As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

She should have been gone before her sister arrived.

Absolutely.

“I needed to get an early start!” Why even be there, or as someone mentioned, be walking out and locking up as the sister is arriving…

Not your monkeys, not your circus

I under stand asking family members to babysit. “Asking” being the operative work. And no means no. And why would I as a mom leave my kids with someone they barely know?

She should have been gone before her sister arrived.

Absolutely.

“I needed to get an early start!” Why even be there, or as someone mentioned, be walking out and locking up as the sister is arriving…

Not your monkeys, not your circus

I under stand asking family members to babysit. “Asking” being the operative work. And no means no. And why would I as a mom leave my kids with someone they barely know?

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Woman Goes With Her Plans Of The Day Despite Sister Bringing Her Kids To Babysit, Causes Drama

Woman Goes With Her Plans Of The Day Despite Sister Bringing Her Kids To Babysit, Causes Drama

A woman told her sister she would not babysit her kids, yet she still brought them to her house just as she was leaving

Standing her ground, she went out with her friends just as planned, leaving a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old home alone

Family members might need to hear a firm “No” if they are to respect boundaries

Guilt often prevents us from saying ‘No,’ but here’s how we can get rid of it

Many people blamed the mother for not listening to her sister: “She abandoned her children”