Children can be a lot.
They not only need constant supervision.
They need clear boundaries and discipline.
Otherwise chaos can ensue.
Case in point…
Redditor GeekedTeddyBear wanted to discuss her story for some feedback. So naturally she came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
She asked:
“AITA for yelling and banning my little cousin from my room after she opened my Barbie doll, and demanding my aunt buy me a new one?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I (F[emale] 20) have a Barbie doll collection.”
“I have been collecting them for my entire life.”
“I have over 30 collectible/limited dolls all still in box in perfect condition.”
“They are on display in my room.”
“My parents invite my little cousins over quite a bit and of course they come in my room sometimes to look at the dolls.”
“I don’t mind, they know to look not touch.”
“One of my cousins- let’s call her Anna (F 12) seemed particularly interested in my dolls.”
“She was asking me which ones were my favorite, most valuable, ones I had the longest etc.”
“I was showing her my favorite one, one that I got as a child that’s worth about $500.”
“It’s my favorite doll.”
“After I finished telling her about it we left my room and we all went down stairs to chill.”
“I noticed all my cousins were playing except for Anna who had disappeared sometime while everyone else was still playing.”
“I didn’t think much of it, just thought she was in the bathroom or outside playing.”
“But after about 15 minutes I got suspicious and went upstairs to my room.”
“There was Anna playing will my $500 Barbie doll.”
“She not only opened it, but completely destroyed the box in the process.”
“My heart dropped. I lost it.”
“I screamed at her and told her she was never allowed in my room again.”
“She started crying staying she didn’t know she couldn’t play with it.”
“But that’s a lie I always tell them to look not touch.”
“It also felt suspicious she opened the one doll I told her was most important to me.”
“When my aunt came to pick my cousins up, Anna ran to her saying I yelled at her for playing with my toys and banned her from my room.”
“My aunt was furious with me and demanded that I apologize to Anna.”
“I refused and told my aunt she owed me a new doll.”
“My aunt told me no doll should be worth $500 and said she will not replace it.”
“My family is divided over this.”
“Some are on my side but some say that I can’t expect my aunt to pay $500 for another doll.”
“So AITA?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA?:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared our OP was NOT the A**hole.
It’s a tricky situation.
Let’s hear some thoughts…
“Tell your aunt to pay, or you’ll let a small claims court decide. NTA.” ~ Sputtrosa
“This, plus buy a lock for your door and no longer let any of them in your room unsupervised (hell set up a camera) to boot.”
“This kid is way too old for this behavior and you should definitely sue for over the price to replace it.”
“Because you can never be sure you’ll get a proper replacement for list price plus all the emotional investment.”
“File the claim and any flak you get should be met with ‘What kind of parent raises a child to the age of 12 that doesn’t understand not to touch or destroy other people’s valuables?'”
“I have collectibles and this hits home, I wouldn’t bother with threats at this point I’d go right to filing a suite for around $1000 USD or so and go from there.” ~ Farwalker08
“I’m pretty sure that if OP went to Aunt’s house and destroyed a loved possession worth $500+, the Aunt would be screaming her head off.”
“Sue the Aunt in small claims.”
“I am a Barbie fan (former collector and dealer) and those dolls DO ACCRUE value.”
“OP knows her stuff and takes good care of those items.”
“The condition of the box is as important as the doll NEVER BEING REMOVED from that same box which is integral to the preservation of the dolls value. NTA.” ~ kimtpring
“The fact that the cousin asked specifically which one was OP’s favorite and has clearly had discussions about how these toys were not to be touched, suggests a real level of purposeful intent here.”
“She found out the favourite and wilfully destroyed it, her excuse of ‘I didn’t know’ doesn’t fly for her age.”
“Maybe it was jealousy about the dolls, I don’t know, but the reaction of her mother speaks volumes.”
“If that were one of my boys I’d have been furious with them, where as this mother is defending her little monster.”
“This is an aunt issue more than a cousin one, a child will behave they way they were taught.”
“Do show her this thread because if she allows and enables this behavior moving forward, she’s going to have a lot more than a broken Barbie doll to worry about.” ~ Natural_Writer9702
“Find a reputable dealer and see how much a replacement will cost.”
“And print it out and tell her that’s the replacement cost and if she isn’t going to pay for it then you’ll take her to small claims court where the fee will be doubled.”
“Because of all your trouble locating the item and the trauma it caused you to be treated so cruelly by a family member.”
“Give them a chance to choose… pay now or pay more later in court.”
“If they choose the later then don’t feel bad about it as that is their choice to go to court. NTA.” ~ GardenSafe8519
OP came back with some details…
“Small update: I’ve decided to send this thread to the family group chat, along with proof of what the doll is worth.”
“As some people have pointed out, the doll is actually worth nearly $1000.”
“I think I’ll be able to get more family on my side and hopefully my aunt will read it too and see that the is wrong.”
Reddit continued…
“Of course it’s devastating.”
“It’s devastating that she would put you in that position at all.”
“It really doesn’t matter what she thinks the doll should be worth.”
“If I tailgate you and rear end your car, I have to pay for what the damages are, not what I think they should be.”
“NTA. From your aunt’s perspective, this is frivolous because she’s being asked to pay a huge sum over her daughter playing with a toy.”
“But the point of principles and right/wrong is the fact that sometimes our actions have greater consequences than we expect.”
“We don’t get to go around doing whatever we want because we think the damage will be minimal.”
“Sometimes that lesson has to be learned more harshly than others.”
“This is one of those times. She should be using this occasion to teach her daughter that lesson.”
“And if she really thinks it’s frivolous, she should be that much more grateful that her daughter is learning this lesson over a $1000 doll instead of something with potentially much less ‘frivolous’ consequences.” ~ KikiBrann
“Definitely take her to small claims court.”
“And don’t let your family bully you out of letting it go.”
“At the end of the day your aunt and her daughter need to learn consequences.”
“And if your family tried to tell you that you’re destroying things over a doll then you should throw that back at them and tell them that your aunt is destroying her family over a doll.”
“Just Uno reverse whatever guilt trip they try to pull on you.” ~ SnooFloofs9288
“The OP’s parents were supervising the child at the time so I’m not sure how that would go.”
“Puts it into a really weird place legally I think.”
“NTA. Sorry your collectable got damaged.”
“Your aunt and cousin sound like serious AHs.” ~ Dennis_Ogre
OP let us know what is happening next…
“Small update 2: After sending this thread to my family group chat, I have everyone on my side.”
“They understand that this isn’t just a toy but something of real value.”
“Still no word with my aunt but I am hopeful my family will be able to influence her to replace the doll without having to go to court.”
“Also some of you seem to think I just had the doll laying around and was waving it in front of her teasing her that she couldn’t play with it.”
“That wasn’t the case, I’ve had this collection since I was a baby so the dolls are no secret to anyone in my family.”
“She also doesn’t play with dolls, never has.”
“The way she ripped the box excessively makes me near 100% sure this was done on purpose.”
“For those who are curious, the doll is the 2001 Midnight Tuxedo Barbie, dark skin/African American version.”
“Doll: 2001 Midnight Tuxedo Barbie.”
Well OP, Reddit is with you.
$1000 is a lot of money.
It’s also the principle of it all.
It may be time for Auntie and Anna to learn a lesson.