AITA for refusing to repaint my niece’s nursery?
A Redditor shares how his sister asked him to paint her daughter’s nursery, a project that took far longer than expected. After the baby was born, she changed the baby’s name and demanded he repaint the wall, but he refused. Now, his sister is upset and calling him a jerk. Read the full story below.
‘ AITA for refusing to repaint my niece’s nursery?’
Back when my sister was pregnant with her daughter she asked me if I would paint the nursery for her. She wanted this really detailed job done and wanted her daughter’s name, Melody, painted on the wall. I wasn’t sure about it because my sister is known to take advantage of me being her older brother.
But I ultimately agreed because I figured I would just set boundaries. She was impossible to work with, pushed my boundaries, and I was working on it a lot longer than intended because of how much she wanted done and how detailed she was about everything. It took 2 weeks of me doing a few hours every day for her to be okay with it.
I told her I was done and said she’d need to find someone else for the next kid if she has one. My niece was born a week ago and my sister changed her mind about the name because she said it was too similar to my daughter’s name. So she decided on the name Birdie for her daughter. Cool.
She told me I’d need to fix the name in the nursery and I told her no, she’ll have to find someone else to fix the name in the nursery because I won’t be doing that again. She said it will look off if done by someone else and I told her it was not my problem.
She yelled at me and then she tried to get my wife to change my mind. My wife told her where to go and said she had taken up so much of my time on the nursery anyway that she was rude to demand more. I was pissed when my sister went to my wife behind my back.
I was so damn proud of my wife for not letting my sister make those demands. My sister told me I’m being a d**k and her daughter doesn’t deserve for me to be petty over our issues.. AITA?
Heres the input from the Reddit crowd:
LemonFoam02 − NTA. Take your wife out to dinner. Have fun.
catskilkid − NTA. Measure twice, cut once. Never thought it should apply to naming a kid and getting personalized painting. Your sister is rude, inconsiderate, e**itled,… We all know where this would end up if you were not family. To finish with another saying.. You can pick your friends but not your family. In this case, you picked a great friend who is now your wife, and unfortunately you’re stuck with your sister.
Cakey211 − NTA. I fully agree, she wanted to change the name because it sounded similar to your kids? She had 9 months to figure that out.. E**itled
canvasshoes2 − NTA. Once again…sick to d**th of people thinking that other humans are their own personal slaves. Did you do this all for free for her?
Kayback2 − Tell her Birdie is a stupid f**king name.
OverRice2524 − NTA. Your sister is a piece of work.
notadruggie31 − NTA, its your time and you already did her a huge favor. Melody is a much better name than Birdie btw.
TheEesie − Flip your sister the Birdie and walk.
[Reddit User] − NTA. You’ve just been bullied. Notice the subtle escalation of reasoning. From “I’d need to fix the name….” to “…look off if done by someone else…” to “…I’m being a d**k….” She has shifted the entire problem to your fault. Then she goes for the ultimate “…daughter doesn’t deserve….” Oh the guilt-trip.
Followed it all up with nice projection, “….me to be petty over our issues.” So you’re the problem, future niece deserves better, and you’re just petty. Deflection, guilt, and projection all in one nice package. Sis used to getting her way?
RoyallyOakie − NTA…Your sister is clearly used to getting her way. She’s going to learn that your boundaries are real this time.
Do you think the OP is right to set boundaries after already dedicating so much time to the nursery, or should he help his sister out and repaint the name for his niece? How would you handle a situation where family asks too much of you? Share your thoughts below!
