Teen Called 'Heartless Monster' for Refusing to Care for Disabled Stepsister He Hardly Knows
A teen wondered if he should give in to his father and stepmother’s demands that he care for his stepsister, saying he's "hardly been around her"
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Stock image of a young girl in a wheelchair.A teenager wondered if he was in the wrong after refusing to promise to care for his disabled stepsister, whom he says he barely knows, in a post to Reddit’s "Am I the A—" forum
The teen, 17, said his father and stepmother called him a "heartless monster" after he refused to promise to take care of his stepsister — who has a fund set aside for her care — after their death
Most Redditors sided with the boy, telling him "you're a minor" and his father and stepmother "should be ashamed of themselves"
A teenage boy says he was called a “heartless monster” by his father and stepmother after refusing to promise to care for his disabled stepsister.
The boy, 17, said that his father and stepmother asked him to promise that he would take the reigns for his stepsister, now 7, in a Dec. 18 post to Reddit’s "Am I the A—hole" subreddit, where users post questions and let other Redditors comment whether they were in the right or wrong.
He shared that his stepsister, Yazmin, is “severely disabled. She can't talk or do stuff for herself,” he wrote, adding ”I don't know much about her condition overall. I never spent much time with [stepmother] Rebecca or her.”
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Stock image of a hospital bed.The teenager explained that he doesn’t have a particularly close relationship with his father, and mostly lives with his mother. But when his father asked him to spend the day with him and have dinner with him, Rebecca and Yazmin, he agreed.
But, he explained, “He didn't really want dinner with me.” Instead, the point of dinner was to ask him to promise to take care of Yazmin when they die.
“They asked me to look over Yazmin and be a big brother to her when they're gone. To make sure she's taken care of in the home and take care of her myself if I need to. They said she's my sister now and we might not be blood but she's my family and she needs me.”
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As he explained, “I said no. I told them I'm not taking responsibility for her. Dad told me I need to, for him, and that he doesn't ask for a lot. I admit I told him he never gives me a lot. He said that's not fair and I shouldn't punish Yazmin for it. He told me I need to step up and be a bigger man than I'm acting.”
He shared that his stepmother asked how he could not want to protect “her sweet girl,” to which he says he replied “I've hardly been around Yazmin and I don't feel a family bond or loyalty toward her and I said they won't bully me into it.”
He also shared that there is a fund set aside for his stepsister's future care, which his father pays into. “He's invested more into her future than he ever did into mine which is a sore point for me but I know she needs it more and all.”
Since he refused to promise to care for her in the event of their death, the 17-year old said his father and stepmother, “are saying I'm a heartless monster for saying no.”
They also reached out to his mother, who took the teen’s side and told his father, “to never speak to me the way he was trying to because I didn't owe him the peace of mind of caring for his stepkid when he dies. She really stood up for me.”
And so did most of the Redditors who read the teen’s story: StrangledInMoonlight wrote, “In order to build a family feeling, a parent actually has to be a parent and be in their kid’s life. OP’s dad didn’t bother, OP’s stepmother didn’t bother and now when [they] make calls upon OP’s family obligation, they wonder why OP feels no pull, no ties.”
Added another commenter, Orphen_1989: “Your Dad and Step-Mom are horrible … they should NEVER have asked you this in the first place … you're 17, you can't make promises like that. You're a minor.”
Others praised his mother, as hayclau wrote,, “Glad your mom has your back. If your dad [brings] that up again, think about telling him if he doesn't listen and respect your feelings about this situation, you might get low to no contact with him.”
The poster said that the plan is to put her in a home but “they want me to take charge and make sure if it's not as good at the time that I'd step in and fix it and stuff. But I really don't want that job.”
This prompted others to remind him that Yazmin has a father who isn’t involved in her life. “Her care is none of your business let alone responsibility. It's called Parental Responsibility for a reason,” Beth21286 said. “They should be telling him to step up but are too lazy to because they think manipulating you is easier. They are lazy parents and should be ashamed of themselves.”
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