Every parent wants a break from their kids every once in a while. Recent research found that one in three parents in the U.S. expect this summer to be particularly stressful and don't expect to have one anxiety-free day. Parents deserve a break, but some may seek childcare in outrageously inappropriate or even neglectful ways.
This mother just decided to leave her kids with her sort-of boyfriend's roommate without asking or telling her anything. The roommate shared the story online, highlighting how some parents really don't seem to know the difference between babysitting and straight-up neglectful parenting.
A woman, her BF, and his kids were hanging out together when her roommate brought his crush and her kids home
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
After some time, the woman noticed that both of them had split and left the kids for her to look after
Image credits: Clint Bustrillos / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: user25451090 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Lumina_Arcaidus
The majority of adults in the U.S. live with some kind of housemate
In an ideal world, we'd all live by ourselves, unbothered by housemates, their girlfriends, and their problems. But the reality is very different. In 2017, 31.9% of U.S. adults said they lived in a shared household. And although most young adults are moving back in with their parents, 18% live with a housemate or a roommate.
According to a 2024 survey by ApartmentAdvisor, most people prefer to actually be friendly with their roommates. 64.1% of the respondents claimed they would like a roommate or housemate with whom they hang out at least a few times a week at home. And 49.2% would want to regularly go out on the town with their roomies.
When asked whether they would prefer to be just acquaintances rather than friends, the majority of respondents disagreed. Only 9% admitted they'd rather not be close friends with the people they live with.
Unfortunately, where there's roommates, there's most always problems. Unwanted guests, noises, disagreements about chores – it can drive even the most patient roommates mad. However, even if living alone is easier, it doesn't mean that it is more beneficial for us.
Although roommates can give us a headache, they still give us a sense of community
Yes, roommates can be annoying. Sometimes, like in this story, their behavior is straight-up inappropriate and annoying. But group living still trumps living alone in terms of benefits to our mental well-being.
Research has shown that college students who have roommates report better mental health and adjust to college life more easily. Another study shows that students who live with roommates from different ethnic backgrounds tend to be more tolerant of other cultures, and that it increases the students' positive sense of self, and allows them to navigate diverse settings better in the future.
Writer and author of the memoir Group Living and Other Recipes Lola Milholland shares her three personal reasons why group living is superior:
- It helps us battle isolation, alienation, loneliness, and apathy;
- It's cheaper and more sustainable to the planet (sharing a car, appliances, etc.);
- It encourages dividing domestic activities usually disproportionately done by women.
Having roommates isn't that bad. It's just about what kind of people you choose or happen to end up living with.
People were confused about how this whole messy situationship works
"Call the police and the CPS for child abandonment," commenters recommended
