Do parents truly think that just because they decided to have and raise kids, their kids owe them anything in return as they get older? The funny thing is, if parents don't act like they are entitled to anything from their kids, and simply raise their kids with love and compassion, then the kids would grow up feeling like they want to help their parents when they are older, which is much better than feeling like they have to . But once parents act and talk to their kids as if their entire purpo…

Focusing on your kids' schooling and future is important, but it's easy to lose sight of the little things and moments along the way that are also important. Failing to nurture their unique skills and interests may cost them the chance to do something that they feel is fulfilling and rewarding and what they deem to be the success of their own lives. Also, pushing them too hard to be successful may be counterproductive and drive them into burnout, which takes years to recover from. Plus, we've s…

If you suddenly showed up at your sibling's home and asked to live with them for 10 months, it would make things awkward, that's for certain. You can't just ask someone to live with them for that long without having a big discussion about what it would mean for you both. And this woman isn't just asking her brother to stay there alone… she wants to bring her entire family , including her two young children. While we always want to be there for the family members we adore, living with someone is…

The entire family is giving this woman the side-eye after she did something strange during a gift exchange. Instead of getting an individual present for every member of your family, some families choose to do Secret Santa gift exchanges . It's a good way to add some fun to the typical present exchange. Everyone is assigned a family member to gift a nice present to in secret. Then, when the present is opened, the person usually finds out who gave it to them. It's a sweet tradition that allows ea…

There is a lot of irresponsible parenting in this story. First, let's start with the stepsisters in question. This is a pair of 25 and 28-year-old single moms who were so reliant on the Redditor's 18-year-old daughter to babysit their kids that they couldn't possibly get a real babysitter to take care of them. So when it came time for a family vacation, the stepsisters tried to convince the Redditor's daughter to stay behind, despite the fact that she wanted to partake in some much-deserved tim…

Learning boundaries is important, even if it means being disappointed—not everything is always going to go your way. Sure, when you're one year old, something you were interested in suddenly disappearing might be the worst thing that's ever happened to you, but it's important to learn that lesson now because once you're older, learning that same lesson gets a lot more inappropriate and embarrassing. There's a big difference between a 12-year-old throwing a public tantrum because they didn't get…

There's divorce, and then there's burning every bridge you've ever built! This stage mom of a 16-year-old is sharing her story about what happened when she and her husband decided to call it quits via email, and it is a messy story. Up next, read about these employees who got fired almost as soon as they started the job , like one dude who refused to wear safety gear, telling the supervisor “no” to his face!

Who knew that evil stepsisters were still a thing? One would think these two teenagers would get a grip and be kind to the Cinderella of this story, rather than lean into the Evil Stepsister caricature. Unfortunately, however, they could not help themselves. This Redditor was traveling with his family for a memorial service, and his wife booked a hotel room for his daughter Shiloh and two stepdaughters to share. Things went a bit south when the stepdaughters insisted that Shiloh sleep on the fl…

Meals are undoubtedly one of the most important daily chores, along with sleep. Being properly fed is one of the things that everything else in a successful and happy life stems from. But providing healthy meals for your family isn't cheap… Have you seen the price of groceries these days? And the time it takes to cook and clean for an entire family can't be understated. So, undoubtedly, the combination of those two things, the time and the price of the actual food, would be supremely valuable.…

This teenager is not going to waste her breath trying to convince her grandmother to watch her end-of-the-year school concert. Instead, she had a quick conversation with Grandma , and then turned off her phone! In life, you'll learn that a lot of people are flaky. Being the friend who actually shows up to events time and time again isn't easy, but it's so worth it to deepen your relationships with those around you. It's a sign that you care enough about that person to carve some time out of you…

Hosting family events is no small thing. Letting people into your intimate space who you have a close and (possibly) troubled history with, resulting from problematic relationship dynamics, presents all sorts of problems. It's basically like opening a Pandora's box of sorts of complex family trauma. Usually, the problematic ones will be rogue cousins or uncles who you just don't see eye to eye with, but occasionally, it will be your own problematic parents. This woman found herself at a breakin…

This stepmother has been really struggling to develop a closer relationship with her stepdaughter At 18, you are an “adult” in every sense of the word. Sure, your frontal lobe hasn't fully developed, and you're going to make a whole lot of bad choices over the next seven or so years, but the difference between 17 and 18 is that you're going to be solely responsible—and accountable—for those decisions. That means the way you engage your peersonal relationships. If you're fortunate and privileged…

"She believes that since she’s the eldest cousin, it’s technically hers by ‘right.’"

Sure, honesty may seem like the best policy, but this Karen of a mother took things way too far. At first, when reading about her seemingly genuine concern over her teenage daughter's body insecurity, one might think that this is an attentive, caring, and decent parent. However, when her daughter asked her to honestly tell her the truth about how she looks, this Karen thought it would be a good idea to tell her that she is, in fact, only average-looking. Her supposed point was to inform her dau…

We're often taught that you have an obligation to love your family and that “blood is thicker than water” and all of that

Hosting events is a lot of work; there's a house to be cleaned, food to be prepped, and a lot of general setup that needs to be taken care of. When it's family, it's even more so to do—it's probably a good idea to hide the things your family won't approve of and save yourself the judgment. Family hosting schedules help to ease the burden of any one person having to host too often, and the reality is that for a member of the family to drop from hosting duties places a disproportionate amount of…