Sometimes, we can read a story on the always juicy Am I the A–hole forum on Reddit (where people write in to find out if they were in the wrong in a given situation) and we can kind of see both sides of the story. And sometimes it is very, very clear there is one person in the situation who is totally, obviously the jerk. Not to spoil it, but this is one of those second situations!
Here's the situation as the letter writer (we'll call her OP because calling her "the jerk" seems a little too mean) describes it: OP's son recently turned 7 and the family had a birthday party. So far, so good, right? At the party, a 12-year-old child (we'll call him Kid), gave the birthday boy "a doll-type thing which glowed and made noises if you pressed a button," the mom explained on Reddit.
Again, so far, so good. Later in the party, OP discovered that the toy, which still worked, had a crack on the shoulder. Most of us would probably shrug and maybe feel a moment of gratitude that a toy that makes noise and lights up might not end up lasting very long. Unfortunately, OP is not most of us.
OP decided it was her job to teach Kid a life lesson.
OP explained that the "next day, when the boy came to play with my son and the other kids, I asked him who brought the gift, and he said he did."
Instead of thanking the child for coming to the party and bringing a gift, OP "showed him the broken part and lightly scolded him. I simply told him that if he was going to spend money buying something, he should've checked the thing."
Whoa. What? Let's keep in mind that this is a 12-year-old who was probably totally caught off guard by getting scolded for a present he brought to a young friend's party. We hate to say this, but this story is actually going to get worse!
OP then told Kid that he needed to go back to the store and return the gift.
OP explains her logic and it is a doozy: "I gave it back to him and told him to ask the store to replace it since it's broken. I thought it was a good life lesson and that he'd remember this. It would help him when he buys something later on. It would teach him not to waste his money."
Let's talk about that last line. Teach him not to waste his money. His. Money. Yep, the 12-year-old used his own money to buy the gift.
Let's be clear: Once the gift is open, it belongs to the birthday kid. Any returns that need to be made should get made by the parent. Or even better, maybe OP could just be gracious about the fact that sometimes gifts break?
Thankfully Kid's mom has some sense.
OP sounds almost confused by why Kid's mom would call her and tell her that she'd been "very rude to her son."
We are SO team mom when OP explains that "She said and I quote 'if someone gives you a gift, you just appreciate it and don't say anything even if it's not that good, especially when it's a kid.'"
YEP.
The Kid ended up replacing the gift but now doesn't come over to play with OP's son any more, which is why OP now wonders if maybe, just maybe, she was in the wrong.
OP ended up hurting two kids.
Let's recap: OP's son now has one less friend to play with and Kid got scolded and embarrassed by a parent for not spending HIS OWN MONEY on a gift that OP deemed to be perfect.
As one user on Reddit noted, "I'm still a sensitive person but if this happened to me as a kid I'd be devastated and too embarrassed to talk to that kid or go to their house ever again. OP has no empathy."
Honestly, OP was a total jerk and we aren't the only ones who thought so. The crowd on Reddit lit into her, giving her the dressing down she deserved.
We're totally nodding in agreement with the person who wrote, "I mean this is true of any gift, it's just basic etiquette. If you don't like a gift or something is broken/wrong you go exchange it. You don't admonish the gifter."
Especially when the gift giver is a child, right?
Thankfully all the comments convinced OP that she was in the wrong and she's noted she plans to apologize to the child. Here's hoping Kid has more willingness to forgive OP than we do! We're team "OP is a jerk" forever.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
