Military mom in a bind with baby is accused of 'abusing' her power over younger sister
Family drama has elicited thousands of reactions on social media and plenty of blunt advice
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A thread on Reddit, the social media site, is blowing up with over 10,000 reactions and over 3,000 comments related to a mom in a military family — and her request that a younger sister help her out when she was caught in a bind due to a sudden work schedule change.
The young mom described herself as 24 years old and said she's living in "her own apartment."
She wrote that her "fiancé is deployed, and I have a one-year-old son."
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The woman, who did not share her location, said a younger sister of hers, who is 18, lives with her and the baby — "and pays no rent."
The younger sister, the woman added, "goes to the nearby college. She has no job and I financially support her, since she is in school. Our parents live three hours away, so it was a better fit."
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The young mom went on, "I work five days a week, and my son is in day care. I got called in on a Saturday (I’m off weekends and the day care is closed weekends), and I pleaded with my sister to watch my son."
But the sister, the woman wrote, "refused."
The young mother added that her sister said "it was her weekend off from school, and she had a lot of studying to do."
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"I told her I really needed her to do this for me. I never ask her. She told me I should just find a sitter online."
The older sister and mom of the one-year-old, however, "told her I really needed her to do this for me. I never ask her. She told me I should just find a sitter online."
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But the older sister continued to ask for help.
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She told her sister, "You need to watch him. I take care of you, and you can do this one thing for me — or you can go back and live with our parents," she relayed on Reddit to the larger community.
The younger sister did not take this well.
"She got really upset and said I’m throwing what I do for her in her face — and how she’s an adult and my son wasn’t her kid," the woman on Reddit wrote.
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However, the younger sister did ultimately agree to watch the baby, the Redditor explained — "and I went to work."
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Then, she shared, "while I was on break, I checked my phone and had numerous text from my parents."
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The texts from her parents said that she was "abusing" her "power" over her sister — "and that my son wasn’t her responsibility."
"While I was on break, I checked my phone and had numerous text from my parents."
The Redditor explained further, "I never, ever ask my sister for help with the baby. She lives with me, so she’s able to go to the school she wanted to go to," she added.
One of the many commenters who weighed in on this issue wrote, "I can understand not helping out the majority of the time. The baby is not her kid, and she has her own responsibilities."
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However, this person added, the younger sister "is living there for free, her sister supports her financially, and said sister was in a pinch. It doesn't sound like an everyday occurrence, so this would have been the absolute minimum to show that she appreciates the good thing she has going on."
This individual added, "I just don't understand why [the original poster] is supporting her sister financially? That'd be the parents' job, not her sister's, who is barely six years her senior [and] pretty much still starting her own life with a baby and a fiancé who is deployed.
This person went on, "Reimbursing her costs should be the bare minimum on the parents' part."
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That comment on its own received nearly 4,000 "upvotes."
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Wrote another person, who was clearly exasperated with the younger sister's resistance, "And here I worked 35 hours a week to pay for my college at 18 years old."
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Said still another person, "I’m honestly more annoyed with the parents. She [meaning the younger sister] is still young and — well, behaves like a child."
"I’m honestly more annoyed with the parents."
Fox News Digital reached out to a clinical psychologist in New York to share professional insight on the sisters' standoff.
Dr. Jayme Albin, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York City, noted, "It seems that the parents are not holding their kids' feet to the fire in the same way. There seems to be some sanctimonious actions on their part by asking one daughter to take responsibility for family members — but not teaching the younger one the same values."
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Added Dr. Albin, "At the same time, I don’t think it’s fair for the older sister to demand that her sister take care of her child at a moment's notice when they both have important responsibilities to pay attention to — yet, that being said, the two sisters need to work out some boundaries."
She said further to Fox News Digital, "Perhaps that involves the younger sister committing to a few hours of child care or chipping in on household chores or the rent. And perhaps the parents can chip in to help create some equilibrium."
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Plenty of commenters on Reddit continued to share their takes on the drama.
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One particular remark garnered more than 4,000 reactions on its own: "Well, she is an adult, and the boundaries need to be reset so they can be respected."
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This comment went on, "For a one-time favor, she [the younger sister] should have volunteered, in my personal opinion. Family, after all."
"I would be sending her back home and then see how she likes living without the 'abuse of power.'"
This person added, addressing the original poster, "But she said it herself: She is an adult, and your child is not her ‘responsibility.’ [This] means you need to remind her that she isn't YOUR responsibility, either. So, time for her to pay you rent. Or for your parents to take ‘responsibility’ for their child and pay her rent, or she gets a 30-day notice."
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Added this individual, "Up until now you have treated her as family — and she isn't returning the favor."
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Said someone else, "Exactly. She can either be family, [who help] each other in tough situations — or she can be a roommate/tenant."
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Someone else chimed in with, "I would be sending her back home and then see how she likes living without the 'abuse of power.'"