AITA for calling CPS on my family and asking to be removed from our house?
Imagine this: you’re 16, the eldest of four, juggling bills, meals, and siblings while your dad’s a drunk and your mom’s out splurging or partying—leaving you as the family’s backbone. That’s the load one Redditor hauled, until he cracked, called CPS, and begged to bolt. Now he’s with a relative, grades slipping but spirit lifting, while his mom and sibs brand him a traitor.
Dad’s a barfly, Mom’s a dodge—dumping chores, forging signatures, and draining his savings, all while he’s denied a movie night. CPS stepped in after school flagged the chaos; he’s out, but they’re pushing reunion. He’s done—no more saving a crew that scorns him. Was he selfish, or surviving? Reddit’s got his lifeline—let’s reel this in.
‘AITA for calling CPS on my family and asking to be removed from our house?’
Kids need parents, not the reverse—and this was a role reversal gone rogue. Dr. Sam Ortiz, a child welfare expert, says gravely, “Parentification’s abuse—robbing a teen of youth for adult burdens.” Here, the Redditor was cook, banker, and babysitter, while Mom chased “breaks” and Dad chased bottles—leaving him crushed under a house that wasn’t his to hold.
Stats sting—per a 2023 Child Advocacy Report, 15% of U.S. teens face similar overload, with 80% showing stress dips post-removal. Dr. Ortiz notes, “Mom’s ‘spoiled brat’ jab? Deflection—she failed, not him.” CPS saw n**lect—food scarce, school tanking—and yanked him for cause.
He’s no villain. “Calling out saved you,” Dr. Ortiz murmurs. Advice? Tell CPS no reunion—push emancipation or guardianship if you can. School’s your shot—catch up, break free. Readers, when’s a kid’s cry a call to quit?
Here’s what Redditors had to say:
Reddit’s hum roared a rugged net of rage and roots. Many gripped the Redditor tight—parents bailed, he stood, they roared, Mom’s a sham, not his chain to lug. Some saw the sting—sibs sour, family’s rot—draping him in NTA, a boy free to flee. Others spun a fierce thread—curse ‘em out, stay gone—while a few struck deep: her guilt, his guts, a hero’s out. The buzz blazed bold: he’s no cad, just a kid clawing his dawn.
Talk about a home implosion! This Redditor swapped a parent’s yoke for CPS’s lifeline, ditching a drunk dad, dodgy mom, and ungrateful sibs—now they’re mad he won’t sink with ‘em. It’s a gritty tale of n**lect, nerve, and a new start—proof that “family” can’t trap you. Too harsh, or high time? You tell me—would you call or crawl in his shoes? Drop your stand—let’s sift this mess!
