Sometime’s in life, you find yourself in a situation where you need to ask others for support. Usually, when this happens, it is advisable to offer something in return, no matter how big or small, just to show your gratitude to the other person. Recently, a Reddit user (32M) opened up about some family drama revolving around his sister and a holiday she asked him to pay for. Initially, he said yes, but now he has changed his mind. Let’s find out why…
A Lack of Gratitude?
The original poster (OP) sets the scene by saying that his family is planning a vacation this summer but that the trip cost is pretty pricey at $2000 per person. OP’s sister, Camila, is the only family member who can’t afford to go as she is still in college.
Not wanting to miss out on the big family trip, Camila asked OP if he could pay for her portion as she thinks he is the most well-off member of the family. In reality, OP would struggle to fund the trip for Camila but could just about manage it.
After discussing the situation with his husband, OP told Camila that he would be willing to pay for her portion of the trip if she did some babysitting in return. OP wasn’t expecting her to babysit for them all the time, just a couple of times a week for a few months.
To his surprise, Camila replied to this suggestion by saying, “Absolutely not.” Then, explaining why she was so against it, Camila said that OP and his husband were effectively manipulating her into doing unpaid labor because she had no other way of going on vacation.
Ultimately, OP stuck to his guns and said he wouldn’t pay for her vacation unless she helped him with childcare. As a result, Camila and OP’s mom are furious as she wants the whole family to go on the trip and also thinks that he is in the best position to pay for his sister to go.
With the rest of the family refusing to take sides, OP wanted to know what the Reddit community thought of his stance.
Support for OP
Most people commenting on the thread felt OP was right in the situation. Some people were baffled that Camila didn’t think the deal she was offered was good, with one user saying: “Lol, “Unpaid labor”?! Did she miss the part where her pay was a $2k holiday? This is a win-win for both of you. She comes out slightly more on top from the whole deal.”
Others went even further and calculated how much the hourly rate would be for Camila’s babysitting: “If she babysits 2 hrs per day, twice a week, she winds up babysitting 4 hours per week. Multiply the 4 hrs per week by eight weeks (2 mo), and it comes out that Sister would owe 32 hours of babysitting in total.$2,000 for 32 hours of babysitting shakes out to a rate of $62.50 per hour.”
Other people felt that the real issue here is that the vacation is so expensive that one person would have to miss out. One person commented: “I do think whoever planned this holiday is an a**hole for planning such an expensive holiday when it’s obvious that one family member is going to be unable to afford it and, therefore, will be excluded.”
Should OP just pay for his sister, considering he has the money to do so, or is he right to want something back in return? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Read the full story here. This article is produced and syndicated by The Impulse Traveler.
