Teen Misses Concert After Mom Guilt-Trips Her Into Last-Minute Babysitting: 'You Can't Just Abandon Us'
A teen on Reddit is looking for support after her mom guilt-tripped her into a missing a concert to babysit her brother
The 18-year-old claims that she's been consistently responsible for her 6-year-old brother, despite getting ready to go off to college
Tired of being the "default caretaker," she's asking if she's wrong for trying to set boundaries with her motherA teen is seeking support from the Reddit community after expressing her frustration with being her little brother's primary caregiver.
The 18-year-old high school senior has been responsible for her 6-year-old brother's care for years. In her post, the teen describes feeling like a 'second mom' to her younger sibling, with responsibilities ranging from after-school care to meal preparation and homework assistance.
'Ever since he was born, I've been expected to babysit him after school, make him dinner sometimes, help him with homework, and basically be his default caretaker whenever my parents are busy,' she writes.
The situation reached a breaking point when the teen was forced to miss a concert by one of her favorite artists due to babysitting duties.
She recounts the conversation with her mother, saying, 'When I told her I already made plans, she got really upset and said, 'You know we rely on you for this. You can't just abandon us last minute.' '
The poster's suggestion to hire a babysitter was met with resistance, with her mother claiming they 'don't have money to waste on that,' when she's 'right here.'
The incident prompted the teen to confront her parents about the ongoing expectation of childcare. She expresses her love for her brother, but argues that it wasn't fair to sacrifice her social life because her parents chose to have another child.
Her mother's reaction was emotional. 'She got quiet, then started crying, saying she and my dad are 'doing their best' and that I'm being 'selfish and ungrateful.' '
While she acknowledges her parents' hard work and need for assistance, she also feels trapped in a role she never agreed to take on. 'I love my family,' she writes, 'but I don't want to feel like a parent when I'm just trying to be a teenager.'
The teen is also currently applying for colleges and trying to maintain her grades, adding to the pressure she feels to carve out time for her own pursuits.
As the poster struggles with feelings of guilt, describing herself as feeling like 'the worst daughter ever,' it's clear the situation has taken an emotional toll. Her final question further highlights her conflict as she asks, 'Am I wrong for wanting my own life?'
Many Redditors have sided with the poster, encouraging her to stand her ground more. One writes, 'You're absolutely right, you're not the one who made the choice to have another child, your parents did, and it's up to them to raise their child.'
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Another adds, 'Get your affairs in order now. Figure out your summer/college job, housing, and where you're going to school come fall. Don't let them pressure you to stay close by or commute from home to a local community college. You need to learn how to be an adult, and apparently, so do they.'
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Kennebunk High grads told to take risks: 'You have the power to change the world'
KENNEBUNK — Kennebunk High School Valedictorian Emilia Ilyas remembers when the question of her future shifted from fantasy to 'evoking anxiety.' 'I unfortunately had to accept that I would never live in a castle,' Ilyas said. Ilyas, speaking to 168 of her classmates at their graduation ceremony on June 8, said much of life is too focused on the future. She encouraged students to embrace the moment on the school's football field as they prepared to stand and receive their diplomas as the Class of 2025. 'Yes, we're actually graduating. It's real. And it's fleeting,' Ilyas said. 'Let's not forget to be here before we go out there.' A total of 174 students graduated from Kennebunk High School this year, and 169 chose to walk, according to Principal Scott Tombleson. Students gathered on the field in front of friends and loved ones as they turned their tassels and tossed their caps. Superintendent Terri Cooper told students that Sunday marked 'not an ending, but a beginning.' She told students to take risks, travel to 'places that scare and excite' them, and apply for their dream job. 'You have the power to change the world,' Cooper said, 'Whether through grand gestures or quiet moments of compassion.' Kennebunk High School graduate Cooper Thompson told students they grew not just academically, but in their ability to adapt and lead through change. He said students have seen their school evolve over the past four years, welcoming new teachers, coaches, assistant principals, and even a new principal in Tombleson this past year. Every year brought a different rhythm, new expectations, and fresh faces, he said. 'Through it all, we didn't just adjust, but we thrived,' Thompson said. 'That speaks to who we are as a class – resilient, flexible and strong.' The day's faculty speaker, history and social studies teacher Rebecca Moy, put a focus on sports as she described the passion with which she has followed the Oakland Raiders since she was a child. She said sports bring out the best in people who strive to compete. She encouraged students to pursue their passions with the same effort many athletes show in athletics. 'To love sports is to understand the value of competition in testing your personal limits and to make a stand for what you've trained for or what you believe in,' Moy said. She concluded her speech, 'This is about the sincere gratitude I have for those graduates who have allowed me to be a part of your lives and let me share the passions I have.' More: Kennebunk High School names top 10% students in Class of 2025 The day marked Kennebunk High School's 150th graduation. Tombleson, hired in August 2024, said he did not take lightly his role as one of about 20 principals who have led the school. Tombelson described the history of Kennebunk 150 years ago — how shipbuilding was in decline in Maine while tourism was on the rise. He spoke about how the first Kennebunk High School graduation might have had families in town for the graduation staying at the Ocean Bluffs Hotel on Cape Arundel, overlooking Walker's Point, 'having no idea the global significance that small spit of land would one day hold.' (It was and still is owned by the Bush family, who produced two presidents of the United States.) Tombelson said they could not have imagined the student body and its community gathering in 2025. At the time, 150 years ago, Alexander Graham Bell had only just invented the telephone. At the June 8 ceremony, students took photos with their cell phones. To build on his point about history, Tombleson asked everyone who graduated from Kennebunk High School to stand up. He then asked those who graduated before the year 2015 to remain standing, then continued to count back each decade until no more were standing. The numbers went back to the 1960s before every person was sitting, the last met with loud applause. 'Together, we can build across generations,' Tombleson said. 'Together, we can renew our hope and faith in the life that is yet to unfold.' Alexis Vetrano Lucia Collin Reigosa Shay Smithwick Tru Jarvis Melody Rousselle Lila Turley Nova Genest Megan Ames James Bertus Trudo Noah Richardson Emilie Barter Dominique Owen Willow Knowles Caroline Tabor Kathryn Manning Emilia Ilyas Logan Lefebvre Emily Dube Thomas Morin Mykyta Vykhodtsev Ella Beals William Turgeon Elijah Blanchard Collin Reetz Parker Plourde Ethan Burr Charles Majkowski Alexandros Cartwright Phoenix Williams Hank Flynn Ainsley Harden Philip Dyer William McMann Aaron Rosen Luis Roberts Jacob Ghans Ryan Clark Sarah Vargonen Alexandria White Gray Rogers Skylar Holder Emma Orendorf Katherine Orendorf Donovan Kendrick Jonas Adams Alexander Adams Benjamin Johnson Norah McLeod Sasha Altshule Taylor Giles Talia Kellum Juliann Pike Anna Fox Maximilian Prosenc Elan Keys Cooper Samson Samuel Haley Finley Knappe Mekhi Gillard Finneas Coldreck Jordann Gilpatric Eliza Herring Owen Swain Connor Therrien Riley Pelletier Novalee Page-Auger William Eagleson Amara Roberts Annabelle Welch Kylee Caron Otto Fontaine Declan McGlashan Eva Havey Kellyn Zambrano Alexis Snow Robert Pollard Isabel Esch Makena Garriepy Mikayla Kimball Kelsey Ewing Karla Hernandez-Vinajero Cindy Perez-Vinajero Eva MacDonald Summer Shea Simone Houdlette Hannah Keene Owen Snow Jacob Emmons Eric Schoener Wyatt Boulette Gabrielle D'Orso-Palmer Grace Mitchell Anna Smiley Madelyn Smith Delaney Hanson Camryn Houle Noah Hammond Andrew Johnson Owen Quitog Samuel Pietrowicz Charley Norton Ian Pentland Anthony D'Elia Kyle Barron Marcelo Pastora Caballero Bennett Webster Maya Kimball Elizabeth Torstensen Ella Pitchforth Abigail Jenannette Lorelei Ogden Maeve Noble Nicholas Vasquez Mario Real Christopher Smith Jacob Labrador Avery Rossics Elsa Liberatore Isabella Donnery Aubree Veilleux Kaden Stevens Jenna Wright Grace O'Neil Ryan Hansen Jackson Thombs Wyatt Hafer Bronwyn Parkhurst Mya Todd Tanner Wendle Ava Kane Mason Binette Meghan Taggart Nicole Axelsen Sonja Frederich Eliza Sayer Abigaile Santerre Molly McKinney Addison Carbone Cenzie Cunningham Audrey Madden Weston Church Blake Dallara Theo Pow Benjamin Urban Kellen Connor Gavin MacDonald Isaac Jensen Calvin Johnson Jack Mosser Brady Stone Jonathan Hines Cooper Thompson Cole Perkins Willard Kull Cole Seitz Aidan Lynch Max Andrews Noah Tarring Brady Holder William Camp Jasper Raymond Shane Woloszyn Ryan Cumiskey Autumn Shaw Aurora Crone Maxwell Stewart Maddox Ralls Caleb Auriema Jacob Eon This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk High grads told to take risks and 'change the world'
