One woman, seeking help from others on social media, described a “nightmare” scenario involving her brother's children, detailing why she will never let them stay over at her house again.
To date, there have been over 5,500 responses, with over 1,500 comments about personal dramas.
The woman, who describes herself as 32, said on a Reddit page known as “AITA” (“Am I an Idiot?”) that she lives in a “nice, cozy home that I've worked hard to maintain.”
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She said her 34-year-old brother has three children, ages 10, 8 and 6. “A few months ago, he[ed] He and his wife needed some rest, so they asked if they could stay at my house for the weekend.”
The woman said she agreed because she “thought it would be a good way for her to bond with her niece and nephew.”
“The kids were really wild. They broke some things. [vase] “They slept in a bed given to them by their late grandmother, spilled juice on the white couch and even wrote on the walls in marker,” one woman (not pictured) wrote on social media, describing what happened when her brother's children came to stay. (iStock)
Apparently that was a mistake.
“The weekend turned into a nightmare,” she wrote.
“The kids were really wild. They broke some things. [vase] It was a gift from my late grandmother, who even spilled juice on the white sofa and scribbled on the walls with marker.”
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“I tried to do something about the situation, but whenever I told them to stop or tried to set boundaries, they completely ignored me,” the woman said.
“He wasn't going to help me clean up or replace anything.”
When she later reported the “disaster” to her brother, he “just laughed and said, 'kids are kids,' and made no attempt to help clean up or replace it,” she said.
The woman said, “I was really hurt, but [I] “I didn't think it was a big deal at the time,” she told the others.
After the first weekend didn't go well, the woman (not pictured) said her brother asked if he could “let the kids stay again” because the couple wanted to “go on another weekend getaway.” (iStock)
Now, let's return to the present. [and] The kids want to go on another weekend getaway, so they're asking if they can stay again.”
“I explained to him what happened last time and told him I didn't want it to happen again,” the woman said.
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“He got really upset and said I was punishing his kids just because they were kids, and that it wasn't fair.”
Now her “parents are involved,” she writes, “and they say I should 'grow up' and help my brother. The kids say they're sorry and just want to spend time with their aunt, but I'm still traumatized by the last time they were here.”
“They don't live in your home. They have no obligation to you.”
The woman asked the others, “Was it wrong to not let me stay in your house again?”
In the platform's most upvoted response, one user wrote: “This is completely ridiculous. You are not the parents of these children and they don't live in your home. You have no obligation to care for them except in an emergency.”
“It's completely reasonable and acceptable to say you can't stand having them in your home, especially given your past experiences,” one Reddit user wrote in response to one woman's story. (iStock)
The person also said: “It is entirely reasonable and acceptable to say you cannot bear to have them in your home, especially given your past experiences.”
The same person also suggested: “Why don't your parents take the grandkids for the weekend?”
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Or, “If you really want to help out, you could stay over at your brother's house for the weekend,” the same user wrote.
“How about your parents take their grandkids for the weekend?”
“That way your kids can stay home and scribble on their own walls. And your siblings can I can pay you For doing this.”
Another user on the platform responded to the reply, writing, “That last paragraph is a genius solution.”
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Yet another wrote, “Kids are kids, not vandals. He and his wife have no control over their kids so maybe they need a break.”
Fox News Digital reached out to psychologists for their opinions.
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Regarding family members caring for other family members' children, etiquette expert Lizzie Post, co-director of the Emily Post Institute and co-author of “Emily Post Etiquette: 100th Anniversary Edition,” said: Scary Mommy One website recently wrote that you shouldn't assume that “everyone with experience in child care will be able or willing to care for your children.”
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She added that while people might like to think that grandparents, aunts, uncles, older cousins or siblings would help with child rearing, “that's asking too much.”
The article also points out that “every childcare arrangement is nuanced and worth discussing.”
