One man’s family was having a lovely Easter celebration until a drama-filled egg was found and cracked open. The egg in question? The upstairs bathroom. The drama? Some major destruction. The family is now breaking out, and the man could not conceal his anger any longer. So he joined the “Am I The A—hole” Reddit to tell the story of his niece, 12, and nephew, 14, “destroying” his wife’s makeup collection.
“They had dug into her eyeshadow palettes with her brushes and poured out her foundations into them and a bunch of her compacts were in the sink soaked in water,” he wrote in his original post, and we are wincing just hearing about it. “When I saw what was happening, I grabbed [my niece and nephew] and marched them into the living room.”
He then told his brother what happened and said he, his wife, and his kids needed to leave. The brother said this was an overreaction, which prompted OP to respond with a hearty “GTFO.”
Apparently, OP’s wife got really into makeup during the initial COVID-19 lockdown and had even started posting her looks on Instagram. She has spent over $4,000 on her makeup collection, which is her “pride and joy.”
And I know what some of you are thinking: FOUR. THOUSAND. DOLLARS?! Yup. Four thousand dollars. If you’re not super into makeup, this number must sound outlandish, but it’s actually not that crazy. Palettes and brushes and high-quality products can really add up. And even if it does seem outrageous, guess what! You don’t have to spend that much! But this is what this woman likes to spend her money on, so hey — more power to her.
She went through the mess and realized that $1.5K worth of makeup was destroyed, and OP was quick to send his brother a bill.
“He told me to f*ck off and that he won’t be paying that much, but he’s willing to replace one of the palettes,” OP wrote. “I said that’s not enough and that since his kids destroyed very important items, he needs to replace them or pay the cost for it. He got my dad involved and he said it was unreasonable for me to ask for that much of him, but I feel like it’s fair.” And so he wants to know: who is the a-hole here?
Age Is Not Just A Number
The vast majority of commenters could not get over the age of the culprits. In case you, like many of us, assumed this would be the work of young kids — the behavior of unattended toddlers — this is your reminder that the niece and nephew are 12 and 14. TWELVE and FOURTEEN.
“[That] is definitely old enough to know better and behave better,” one Redditor wrote. “I would never even touch my own mother’s things at that age without asking. If my son ever did something like that, I would be so embarrassed and I would pay it back, even though I am broke and would have to do one item at a time.”
“Kids of that age knew EXACTLY what they were doing,” another said. “They should have learned to A) not touch other people’s stuff, B) not finger paint in someone else’s makeup, and ) the financial COST of the products they were destroying.”
Why Would They Do This?
So since the consensus is that these kids should definitely have known better, what was the motive here? One person wanted to know if they “are little sh*ts” in other ways too.
“They’ve been destructive since they were small, but never to this extent,” OP explained. “It’s usually things like tipping over a plant or a vase or dropping plates on purpose but this took it to a whole new level. The palettes were pretty much destroyed beyond use because they dumped foundation and smeared it into all of them and all her compacts were ruined because of the water.”
Or, Redditors asked, does this have nothing to do with their destructive disposition? Is there something more going on?
“Do they have something personal against your wife because this is odd behavior,” one person said.
Or, is this just a case of bad parenting?
“The kids are in their TEENS and destroying people’s property as if they’re toddlers,” a user wrote. “[OP’s brother] needs to take a step back and look at how he’s raising these kids. The way they’re acting says a lot about his inability to parent. Makeup isn’t cheap, and his lack of accountability speaks volumes. He needs to replace the products himself or buy your wife a gift card to Sephora for the full amount. Better yet, he should make get his kids work summer jobs to pay back the cost of the makeup they destroyed.”
“How do they not know how to act better?” yet another asked. “Horrible parenting.I’m guessing that they are not even punished at all for their actions either. Did they at least apologize?”
Why Is The Bill Reasonable?
The brother and sister-in-law, as well as OP’s father, think the $1.5 thousand bill is outrageous, but here’s the thing: Would they feel that way if the kids had destroyed anything else? If they had taken a bat and bashed in their aunt’s car windows, would they still be digging their heels in and refusing to pay?
“This is your dad’s sexism conveniently rearing its ugly head to get him out of paying the bill,” one commenter said. “If this had been a tool kit or something stereotypically masculine he wouldn’t be playing this card quite this way.”
“If the kids came into your home and destroyed a $1500 painting they would be expected to pay for it, right?” another said. “Makeup is expensive, and it’s unfortunate that they are in this position, but it is what it is. You break it you buy it. You’re not running a charity or a funhouse for their kids. This is a big learning experience for your bro and his kids; don’t touch other people’s things without express permission.”
So Now What?
If you haven’t caught the drift yet, people agree that this dad should fork over the cash. He can either do it the easy way, or they can do it the legal way, they say.
“Take. Them. To. Small. Claims. Court,” one Redditor insisted. “And then cut off any flying monkeys that have anything to say about it. NTA by a long shot!”
“File against the parents and the children. This won’t help your family relationships, but it sounds like those relationships are already damaged,” another wisely pointed out.
Oof. That sounds rough but just might be true. This isn’t something they can brush away or blend out. And as we’ve established, the foundation has already been ruined.
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