I refused to babysit so that my aunt could go to Taylor Swift

The 16-year-old said her aunt didn't end up attending the final Sydney show which serves her right for not getting organised earlier.

During Taylor Swift's Sydney leg of her Eras tour, fans across the city scrambled for a chance to see the pop icon live. 

However, for one teenager, it was less excitement and more drama as she was asked to babysit at short notice for her aunt who managed to nab tickets. 

The 16-year-old shared their predicament in a post on an advice forum titled, "AITA for refusing to babysit my cousins last-minute so my aunt can see Taylor Swift?" 

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Image: IStock / Facebook

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The last-minute babysitting request

The teen explained that she has had previous babysitting stints for her four and six-year-old cousins but has since told her aunt she needs to find a new babysitter because her youngest is "too difficult."

Then came the last-minute request on Monday morning, as her aunt's planned babysitter fell through, leaving her in a bind on the night of the concert.

"My aunt has tickets to Taylor Swift for tonight and she thought my other cousin could babysit but he just got COVID. She's been desperately trying to find a babysitter but hasn't had any luck. So she asked me to babysit just this one more time," she wrote.

Despite being offered double the usual pay, she was still hesitant as it was a school night and because her cousin is a "little terror." 

"My aunt won't be home until about 1 a.m. and I have to be up at 7 a.m.," she explained, adding how difficult it is to focus at school when she’s sleep-deprived. 

Even her parents encouraged her to do her aunt a favour, saying, "I need to just do this one nice thing for her and I’m selfish if I don’t."

She concluded her post, "I would do it if it was some emergency or something, but it's a concert. Am I in the wrong here?"

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"Your aunt needs to plan better"

The community immediately responded, assuring the year-11 student felt supported in her decision. 

A top comment with 4.9k likes pointed out, "Unless the other babysitter JUST caught COVID the same day, your aunt needs to plan better." 

Others agreed that while the timing was unfortunate, the onus was on the aunt to sort out babysitting, not the teen.

A fellow Sydneysider remarked, "You’re not being selfish, if all the adults think this is so important then they should be stepping up to assist." 

Then another commenter advised the teen to "stand your ground." They added: "Your school is more important."

The poster then provided an update saying she took everyone’s advice and refused to babysit. 

She said: "I didn't babysit. My aunt's friend she was gonna go with just took someone else to the concert so she didn’t end up going."

Ouch. 

Originally published as I refused to babysit so that my aunt could go to Taylor Swift