Woman Refuses to Babysit Her Mom’s Boyfriend’s Kids for Free, Feels It’s Unfair She’s ‘Playing House’

A 19-year-old woman turned to Reddit for advice after a heated confrontation with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend about being expected to babysit his children for free.

After moving back home due to financial pressures, the young woman said she was surprised by how much childcare responsibility fell on her shoulders. Her mother’s boyfriend, referred to as “M,” has five children, three of whom regularly spend time at their house. One lives there full-time and is nearly 18, while two younger daughters, ages 5 and almost 7, stay with them four days every other week.

“M will regularly come home after work when we have the girls and just fall asleep, or on weekends he will just sleep all day,” she wrote.

At first, she didn’t mind helping out, especially when her mom and M were working. “The girls are here on my days off during the week and I usually end up watching them when M and my mom are at work — no problem at all,” she said. But soon she realized that even when M was home, she was still being left to take care of the kids.

“There have now been a couple of occasions where M has been home and I still end up watching them while he naps,” she shared. The last straw came during a family pumpkin-carving session, when M abandoned the activity to go inside and take a nap. “It just broke my heart today when we went to carve pumpkins and he started his, went inside while the girls and I were doing it, and went to sleep,” she wrote.

After that incident, she decided to confront her mother. “When my mom got home from work, I went with her into her room and told her that I will no longer be watching the girls for free when their dad is home,” she explained, adding that she wouldn’t “lift a finger” if M was around because she wasn’t their parent.

Her frustration grew when M woke up and began shouting about a leftover bowl of pumpkin guts — and even yelled at his 6-year-old daughter for finishing her homework.

Although she felt justified, the teen admitted to feeling guilty about setting a boundary. “I feel like an a– for saying I will not take care of the kids and planning on following through with it,” she confessed.

One Reddit user encouraged her to avoid being available when M was home: “You need to practice making yourself scarce when sleepyhead is around. If they are all doing something, get out of the house… Sadly, your mother is one of those single moms who has decided that having a man in her bed is more important than her child.”

The teen replied that escaping the situation wasn’t easy. “I don’t have a car so that is harder and I’m saving money to move out so taking an Uber isn’t ideal,” she said, adding that she was still trying to avoid “playing house” with her mom and M.