Children go through all sorts of strange transitions, from things that make them laugh to things that make them sick.
On the more serious things that lead to illness, it’s best to take them seriously.
But one woman’s family struggled with this, according to the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor Fabulous_Ad887 explained to her family what would make her daughter sick, which fell on deaf ears.
When the family tried to make it her fault, the Original Poster (OP) began to question herself.
She asked the sub:
“AITA for not replacing my nephew’s pants and shoes after my daughter threw up on them?”
The OP’s youngest daughter recently had stomach issues when scared.
“My husband and I have 2 daughters. Amelia (6) and Paige (3). Paige recently started throwing up whenever she gets scared. We’re not entirely sure why she does this but we know she can’t control it.”
“My brother, SIL (sister-in-law), and their kids (7 [male] and 5 [female]) were here yesterday and one of the first things we told them was that nobody is allowed to scare Paige and that if she gets scared she will throw up.”
Despite the warning, the OP’s nephew decided to experiment.
“My nephew wanted to test this so he hid behind Paige’s door and scared her when she went to her room. She threw up on his pants and shoes and ran to find me.”
“I calmed Paige down and started to get her ready for her nap while my husband cleaned up the vomit when my SIL came to me, asking about when I’ll pay her for my nephew’s pants and shoes or when I’ll buy new ones.”
The family argued over who was responsible for the clothes.
“I asked what she was talking about, and she said that since Paige “destroyed” the clothes, I need to replace them.”
“First of all, I’m pretty sure vomit comes out in the wash. If not, we have some kind of stain-removing fairy/genie/wizard living in our washing machine.”
“And second, everyone was given a warning that if they scare Paige, she’ll throw up, and nephew decided to scare her anyway.”
“My SIL got huffy and insisted that we need to replace nephew’s clothes.”
“My brother tried telling her it’s fine and it’ll come out in the wash but she continued to argue.”
“I eventually told her she could either shut up or leave. She chose the latter and has been complaining to my brother about the pants and shoes since.”
“AITA for not replacing my nephew’s pants and shoes after he made my daughter throw up in them?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some joked about clothes being “ruined” after being vomited on.
“I was totally ready to go the other way when I first read the title, but OP told them not to do it and exactly what would happen if they did. It’s not her fault the kid didn’t listen!”
“And they’re not destroyed. SIL is just looking for some money / new stuff because it’s totally washable. Definitely NTA.” – Okay-Mode-2038
“Well, OP COULD have the magical vomit cleaning fairy/genie/wizard in her washing machine. If so then I have had the same mystical being living in my washer for at least 18 years since it worked to get my son’s vomit out back then.” – Dewhickey76
“Ya know. I think this magic fairy/genie/wizard might just be this new invention called laundry detergent.”
“It’s this stuff that you dump in with clothes and is usually white in powder form and blue in liquid form. It’s got nanobots in the stuff that literally go into the clothes and pull all the bad crap out. Not really magic folks, just a bit of science.” – tattednip
“The shoes and pants are probably just getting snug on the kid and she doesn’t want to buy new” – wigglywigglywack
Others how the OP’s sister-in-law chose to discipline her son.
“I was fully expecting a sudden accident where no one knew the daughter was sick or (worse) OP knew she was sick and still got them together. But the kid might as well have thrown up on himself since he’s basically fully responsible!”
“And, yah, I’ve never encountered vomit that didn’t come out with a little extra care. Unless OP’s daughter is throwing up some kinda green slime (in which case, call a doctor and/or exorcist), the clothing should be good as new soon enough.” – Willowed-Wisp
“Even if they were destroyed, NTA. Child was told he’d be thrown up on if he scared her, and he immediately went to do so on purpose. His mom just needs to accept sometimes kids are stupid and sometimes she needs to deal with consequences from her kid doing something stupid.” – FaithCPR
“I think the appropriate response is ‘Paige is not responsible for [Nephew’s] clothing being damaged. Nephew did something we specifically told him not to, and his bad behavior got his clothing dirty and made Paige sick.'”
“‘You are responsible for damage that is caused by your child, so [nephew’s] parents are responsible for both any damage to nephew’s clothing and for the vomit that got on Paige and the floor. If you really think that things that are vomited on need to be replaced, you should be paying us.'”
“‘In the future, supervise your child better or teach him to follow the rules and be kind. Also, we are waiting for an apology from nephew for his bad behavior.'” – TheHatOnTheCat
“NTA. Also – surprised that this was your SIL’s only reaction. No surprise that her son disobeyed a direct request or an apology for his behavior. At least he learned that actions have consequences” – Mangosteen911
“Kids do naughty things even when they’ve been told not to. When they do, there is this thing called consequences. I’d be taking away electronics for a few days. He also owes an apology to his cousin, Paige.” – Plumdiddlyumptious
A few also wondered if the nephew ever apologized to the niece.
“NTA – I don’t suppose in all your SIL’s grandstanding she bothered to address the bullying her 7yo son did to your 3yo daughter and how she’s going to teach your nephew to respect other people?”
“And if your nephew jumped out trying to scare your daughter and tipped red wine (or something similarly staining) all over himself because of HIS actions, would she expect you to pay for her child’s choices in that instance also?”
“I hope your nephew apologized for upsetting your daughter.” – airazaneo
“Tell her you will pay for the shoes and pants after she reimburses you for your daughter’s ‘pain and suffering.'” – Nebraskan-
It’s understandable that a child might do something in response to being told not to do it.
But the nephew getting dirty, the subReddit agreed, was in no way the OP’s fault.