AITAH for upsetting my nephew?
A Redditor shares a story about a disagreement with their sister-in-law and nephew during a family visit. When their 6-year-old nephew wanted to play Fortnite on their daughter’s account to use her rare skins, the Redditor refused, explaining it could mess up her competitive stats.
The situation escalates with the nephew throwing a fit, the sister-in-law criticizing their spending, and the family leaving in anger. Was the Redditor wrong for standing their ground, or did they overreact? Read the full story below…
‘ AITAH for upsetting my nephew?’
Family came over to visit and my nephew, 6, wants to play on our family’s ps5. He wanted to play fortnite and he saw my daughter had a lot of rare skins. I told him he can’t play on my daughters account because she does play competitively and it would mess up her stats.
He started getting upset because he wanted to use her skins and I said no. His mom, my SIL, started saying it’s not fair that my daughter has all of these skins and it’s a waste of my money to buy her all of them. I said I occasionally maybe get my daughter a battle pass (5-6 at the most) but she normally earns her own skins and v bucks.
My SIL said I could get my nephew a battle pass and let him play and I said “you can get your son a battle pass, it’s not that expensive.” My SIL and nephew kept arguing and I grabbed the ps5 saying no one is playing today. My nephew started crying and throwing a fit and my SIL left saying I’m a major a**hole.
My daughter is on my side because I know she would have been mad if someone messed up her stats but my wife thinks it wasn’t that deep to let our nephew play. My IL are angry and told me this was a stupid hill to die on and left right after they ate.
Check out how the community responded:
Ill_Network_7587 − NTA you’re not forced to let anyone use your daughters account. No is no, giving in to him would only enable that throwing tantrums works.
shammy_dammy − No reason for them to come over again. NTA
Nervous_Storage_5686 − No way!! That’s your daughters account. I’m sure that your in laws wouldn’t appreciate you going on their phones and changing or ruining something on there. It’s such a s**tty attitude, that adults can have their own things, privacy, expect people to leave their stuff alone.
But when it’s a child, they are expected to share, and just deal with it. It sounds like your daughter is passionate about the game, and so her stats are something she’s proud of and working at.. NTA. Your SIL sounds entitled.
wlfwrtr − NTA Ask wife if it would be okay for someone to come to her work and take over something that she’s been working on for along time messed it up and maybe lost part of the work due to not knowing what they were doing. Then left for her figure out and work back up to where she was.
She would probably miss out on any bonuses that were being offered with her work too because everything was messed up without her knowledge or okay. It’s the same concept for daughter and her games. Wife should respect what’s your daughter’s isn’t okay to be given away for any reason without her knowledge.
[Reddit User] − NTA. Your nephew being upset is unfortunate, but that doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. You set a clear boundary to protect your daughter’s account and stats, which is completely reasonable. Your SIL trying to guilt you into letting him play and buy him a battle pass was out of line—he’s her kid, not yours.
Your daughter earned those skins and works hard playing competitively, so it’s fair to not let someone mess that up. Your nephew being young doesn’t mean he’s entitled to her account or the stuff she’s earned. If it’s that important to him, his mom can get him his own battle pass—problem solved.
Your ILs saying this is a “stupid hill to die on” is kind of ridiculous. It’s not about the PS5—it’s about respecting your boundaries and your daughter’s stuff. If you’d let him play and it messed up her stats, she’d have been upset, and you’d still be in the middle of a fight.
Your wife’s right that it “wasn’t that deep,” but that goes both ways—your SIL made this into way more drama than it needed to be. You’re not the a**hole for standing up for your kid and not letting someone else guilt you into giving in.
Ok_Copy_8869 − NTA, gaming gets a bad rap but if your daughter really plays competitively then she puts enough effort into it that it’s fair to not want to tarnish that in any way just for the passing amusement of a little while running around in her skins would have given your nephew.
Your daughter is always going to remember you defended something she cared about. Unless your family is super boring ‘the Fortnite drama of 2024’ will surely pass. Considering the holidays are coming up maybe getting your nephew a battle pass for Christmas since indeed they’re not that expensive would be a good gesture to move past this?
grayblue_grrl − Your WIFE is the problem. She is allowing her family to b**ly you and willing to destroy your daughter’s stuff to appease a 6 year old. Time to get her on the side of your daughter. And to realize that this is not acceptable behaviour. In-laws can get the nephew his own PS5 and keep him at home.. NTA
SadSissyFuss − No means no. Thanks for sticking up for your daughter. Rewarding behavior like that (both of their behavior) would only open the door for more of the same.
putting your foot down now and leaving it there is the best thing you can do. Simply saying ‘no’ to a minor request isnt ‘dying on a hill’. to the contrary I think your ILs are the ones on a hill.. NTA.
TallSimple2929 − NTA. Both your nephew and SIL need to learn that “No” is a complete sentence.
ImaginaryPark6311 − High five, man! You did a FANTASTIC job as a parent!! NTA
Do you think the Redditor was right to protect their daughter’s account and stats, or was it an overreaction to the situation? How would you handle a similar conflict with family members? Share your thoughts below!