AITA for calling my 8 year old s**lfish

A mother recounts calling her 8-year-old daughter “selfish” during a family trip to the zoo. While the kids were riding attractions, the daughter returned early, explaining that she used the single-rider lines to skip ahead, leaving her siblings and cousins behind.

The mother expressed disappointment, saying the outing was meant for family bonding and criticized her daughter’s behavior as selfish. She also commented that this might be why her daughter struggles to make friends, which made the child cry.

The mother’s sister and husband now believe she was too harsh in her response, leaving her to wonder if she was in the wrong.

‘ AITA for calling my 8 year old s**lfish’

I have 3 kids (7, 8, 10) and my sister has 2 (7 and 10). We went on vacation together recently and we took the kids to a zoo that also had a few rides. The kids went on the rides while my sister and I got coffee nearby. We told them to meet us at a certain table when they were done.

\My 8 year old came to me much earlier than her siblings/cousins. I asked if the rides scared her and she said no, she just skipped the lines. I asked for clarification and she said when there was extra space on the ride, they asked for single riders to come up to the front so she did that for all 5 rides.

I told her the point of her going with her siblings and cousins is to have fun with them and that it was s**lfish for her to leave them so she could cut the line. I told her I understand why she doesn’t have many friends if this is how she acts all the time and she started to cry and ran to my sister.

My sister ended up buying her ice cream and said that I was too harsh. She told my husband and he’s mad at me for speaking to her like that.
AITA for calling my daughter s**lfish?

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

[deleted] ( Top 1 ) says

I would 100% say YTA you’re the a**shole. The kid is f**cking 8. Instead of treating this is a teaching moment you tell your own child “I get why you have no friends”
The Hell is wrong with you?

FuzzyMom2005 ( Top 2 ) says

YTA. First, I think the kids were too young to just let go on their own. They were nearby, but not in eyesight. That’s not good. Second, there was an odd number which isn’t good for rides. She took the single rider. They all could have. She was faster. Third, what an awful, awful thing to say to a child.

She didn’t cut the line. She wasn’t s**lfish. And I bet she has a lot of friends. Way to drive your kid away from you.

[deleted] ( Top 5 ) says

YTA.
This was a teaching moment, not annihilate my child moment

Agreeable-Book-7018 ( Top 6 ) says

YTA. There’s 5 kids and I bet they paired up and left her out. Most rides require 2 people. Tell me you dislike your child without telling me you dislike your child.

DesertSong-LaLa ( Top 7 ) says

YTA — Your words were cruel and in appropriate. Insulting her like a mean girl does not inspire her to change. You scorched her world with this one.
*I told her I understand why she doesn’t have many friends if this is how she acts all the time and she started to cry and ran to my sister.*

squirrelsareevil2479 ( Top 8 ) says

YTA. You bullied your daughter. Instead of parenting your children, you left them alone and then attack your daughter for her choice to not wait with the others. She’ll remember you telling her that she doesn’t have friends for the rest of her life. You blamed her for your failure to supervise your own children.

HugeInTheShire ( Top 9 ) says

YTA, there is no way you get to say the words “I understand why you don’t have many friends” and not be the a**shole.

sheramom4 ( Top 10 ) says

YTA.
The kid has the confidence and independence to ride by herself. She doesn’t need her siblings or cousins to hold her hand and was having fun. Your words were cruel and unnecessary. She didn’t cut the line. The other kids just didn’t take advantage of an opportunity.