'AITA for refusing to let my mom's boyfriend's son stay with me because he's a menace?'
"AITA for refusing to let my mom's boyfriend's son stay at my apartment?"
MuchBoysenberry6668 writes:
My mom has been dating this guy for about eight months, and he has a 15-year-old son. Next week my mom is going on a 10-day cruise with her boyfriend, and she has been asking me to let his son stay at my place while they’re gone.
I’m 22F and live with my boyfriend in a two-bedroom apartment. We’ve let family stay in our spare room before when they needed a place, but this kid is absolutely out of control and I don’t want to deal with him.
This teenager has caused problems everywhere he goes. My mom’s boyfriend’s parents used to watch him regularly until he stole money from their wallets, took their car without permission, and threw a party at their house that ended with the cops being called.
They refuse to take him now. My mom’s boyfriend’s sister tried having him on weekends, but that stopped after he broke their TV during a tantrum and was caught going through their bedroom.
The few times I’ve been around him have been nightmares. He’s rude, aggressive, and entitled. At a family barbecue last month, he got in my face and screamed at me because I wouldn’t let him use my car to pick up friends.
Another time he tried to take my laptop while I was using it, and when I said no he called me a name and stormed off. He steals food off other people’s plates, picks fights with younger kids, and has zero respect for adults.
My mom keeps saying I should give him a chance because he’s been through a lot and is just acting out. She says the relationship is serious and I need to start treating him like family. She keeps pressuring me, saying nobody else will take him and that they already paid for this cruise.
I told her absolutely not. I suggested they hire a professional sitter or cancel their trip. She got really upset and said I’m being selfish and that this is what family does for each other. Her boyfriend even called me and said I’m making things difficult and it’s just ten days.
I get that he’s only 15 and probably has issues from whatever he’s been through, but I’m not willing to risk having my stuff stolen or broken, and I won’t put my boyfriend through that stress either.
My mom thinks I’m being inconsiderate and so does her boyfriend. Even some other family members say I should just suck it up for ten days. So AITA for refusing to let him stay with us while they go on their cruise?
Here are some of the comments on OP's post.
DirectionWilling4592 says:
So wait a minute. Your mom and her boyfriend have tried all the responsible, grown adults in their circle who might have a chance of having some control over this kid, and he has burned bridges with all of them? Now that he has alienated his own family, they expect you, someone who’s only a small handful of years older than this kid, to spend a third of a month with him in her home?
An underage child who’s already tried to take your car, illegally I might add, to pick up his friends? Who has called you names, shows you complete and total disrespect, and is routinely verbally rude? And your mom and her boyfriend are calling YOU a jerk for not allowing this? Yeah, there’s definitely someone wrong (or two) in this scenario, but it’s not you.
OP responded:
Thank you! That's exactly what I keep trying to tell my mom. If his own grandparents won't deal with him anymore, why would I?
CrayonTactics says:
Letting that kid stay would be like inviting a raccoon into your kitchen chaos guaranteed. You’re totally justified in saying no; your peace of mind matters too.
Fabulous_Concern_399 says:
NTA. If his actual family doesn’t want to help, why should you? At this point they can pay a babysitter, take him on the cruise, reschedule, or cancel. The kid isn’t your sibling and if they’re not married the kid isn’t even your step-sibling yet.