Getting away with the family is fun, but it can go south real quick!
Take this Redditor, for instance; the woman and her sister’s family decided to have a little staycation at a lake cabin, but instead of savoring the time together, her sibling bashed her for “letting” her 23-year-old daughter drink beer and watch “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”
More info: Reddit
This family decides to spend some time away at their lake cabin
Image credits: Ron Lach (not the actual photo)
The couple had to drive to a town nearby, so they left their 23 y.o. daughter with the woman’s sister
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Image credits: [deleted]
“AITA for letting my niece drink and watch a graphic movie?” – this web user took to one of Reddit’s most judgmental communities to ask its members if she’s indeed a jerk for allowing her 23-year-old niece, a legal adult, to drink beer and watch “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” The post managed to garner nearly 7K upvotes as well as 603 comments discussing the situation.
Fear of losing control, cultural expectations, perceived maturity levels, personal insecurities, communication barriers, unrealistic expectations, financial dependence, parental identity crisis, overprotectiveness, and social comparison – there are a million and one reasons why parents would refuse to see their grown kids as adults!
Now, everyone knows that raising children is far from easy. There’s an immense responsibility to do everything right while also trying to keep your own self together – plus, let’s not forget that most people who opt for parenthood do it for the very first time with no experience whatsoever.
However, that said, none of this should be a reason for them to police their adult children over ordinary things that ordinary adults do.
“Infantilization” – a term that describes the treatment of one who is not a kid as though they are a kid, is a pretty common occurrence in parent-child relationships that seems to also apply to today’s story!
To paint a better picture, BetterHelp, a well-known mental health platform, suggests that the so-called symptoms usually include:
- Disapproval,
- Interference,
- And excessive criticism.
What’s more is that although the causes differ, some researchers have linked it with narcissism, saying that parents who have narcissistic tendencies may not want their children to grow up and basically stop being reliant on them; however, the situation that we’re covering today also seems to have a touch of good old sexism.
Upon returning, the woman freaked out on her sibling for letting her grown kid drink and watch a “graphic” movie
Image credits: Streetwindy (not the actual photo)
Anywho, let’s recap!
This family decided to take a little time off and head to their lake cabin. Upon arriving, the couple realized that they had forgotten a few things, so they headed to the nearby town and left their 23-year-old daughter with her 37-year-old aunt.
There was no data or Wi-Fi, so the OP (the aunt) gave her niece a laptop that had a bunch of old movies downloaded on it. Nobody was checking on anyone, of course, as, well, why would they?
The niece ended up picking “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” taking a couple of beers that the Redditor had brought, and just enjoying the time away from the hectic city life.
Unfortunately, though, the fun didn’t last, as when her parents returned, they caused a huge scene and even blamed the author for “letting” her grown adult niece watch “dirty” movies and drink – and when the netizen brought up the fact that her nephew who is 21 was drinking with them near the holidays, they simply dismissed it.
What do you think about this, Pandas?
Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions on the situation
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich (not the actual photo)
