Kid Laughs After Breaking Cousin’s Console, Switches To Tears After His Parent’s Response

If you’re a parent, you probably know you’ll have to fork over a lot of money for your kids’ Christmas presents. Last year, researchers found that parents spent an average of $461 per child for Christmas. If you add other children from extended family, that might add up to a pretty big sum!

This parent still went out of their way to buy their nephew an expensive gaming console, the same one their son already had. However, when the little menace broke his cousin’s console and made him cry, the parent took away his present and gave it to their son. After their sister and family shunned them, they asked for unbiased opinions online: was the parent wrong to replace the son’s console with the nephew’s Christmas gift?

A  parent bought their nephew a gaming console for Christmas, the same one their son already had

Woman and nephew playing video games together on a couch, capturing the moment woman took back nephews Christmas gift.

Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels (not the actual photo) 

But when he smashed their son’s console, the parent took his away from under the Christmas tree and regifted it to their son

Text excerpt about woman who took back nephew’s Christmas gift and gave it to her son amid family tensions.

Woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift after buying an extra gaming system and wrapping it under her tree.

Woman took back nephew's Christmas gift after video game system was smashed and caused distress.

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Text excerpt showing a woman explaining how her nephew made fun of a baby toy before she took back the Christmas gift.

Woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift after explaining the expensive system was broken and needing discipline.

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Image credits: Meruyert Gonullu / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Text excerpt showing a woman took back nephew's Christmas gift after a dispute about unsupervised play and parenting fault.

Woman took back nephew's Christmas gift to give it to her son, showing a heartfelt moment of sacrifice and family care.

Text excerpt revealing a woman took back her nephew’s Christmas gift during a family disagreement.

Woman took back nephew's Christmas gift, looking thoughtful and concerned while sitting at a wooden table indoors.

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Text excerpt showing a woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift, causing family tension and a slammed door.

Text describing a woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift after a family dispute over jealousy and behavior.

Text excerpt from woman took back nephew's Christmas gift, expressing concern about money and feeling bad.

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Parents need to set firm boundaries around children’s destructive behavior

Breaking furniture and belongings is part of being a kid. However, it should only be acceptable when it’s accidental. Truly, who hasn’t knocked over a vase at grandma’s house or let a figurine slip through their fingers as a kid?

In this story, it seems that the destructive behavior was on purpose. Toddlers and small children might engage in destructive behavior because they just can’t deal with their big feelings. But a 13-year-old is almost a teenager and knows well that actions come with consequences. By that age, a kid knows that breaking something that belongs to another kid will hurt them and make them cry.

Experts say that there are different reasons behind kids acting in destructive ways. However, the most common one is that they use lashing out and destroying things as a coping mechanism. Kim Abraham, LMSW, and Marney Studaker-Cordner, LMSW, write that children destroy things to cope with frustrations and extreme feelings. “It makes them feel better, if only for a while.”

The two experts also note that even if it seems harmless, parents should not tolerate or enable destructive behavior. This is their advice for how to approach the conversation about a child’s destructive behavior:

• Set clear boundaries. Let your child know that destroying things, whether they belong to you or a stranger, is not acceptable. Set clear expectations about what the consequences will be if they engage in this kind of behavior.
• Teach them to redirect their frustrations. When the child is calm, talk to them about how they can release their negative emotions and physical energy. Abraham and Studaker-Cordner give an example of a mom who taught her daughter to jump on a trampoline to release pent-up energy. Stress balls can be another tool for redirection.
• Hold the child accountable. In this particular story, the mother should agree to reimburse the other parent for the broken console. The child can “work off” the debt by doing chores and helping the parents around the house in other ways.

Children’s behavioral consultant Scott Ervin recommends not looking at the issue too deeply. Analyzing the child’s psyche might not yield the wanted results. “Instead,” Ervin writes, “you can spend your time teaching your kid that destroying stuff doesn’t get her anything good: it won’t get her attention and it won’t get her control over the actions and emotions of an adult. In addition, you will teach her that destroying property will make her life harder and worse (just like in real life).”

“She is kind of known for this kind of thing,” the parent wrote about their sister

Reddit comments discussing a woman who took back her nephew’s Christmas gift after he deliberately damaged it.

Reddit discussion about woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift due to his serious behavior and family conflicts.

Reddit comments discussing a woman who took back her nephew’s Christmas gift after his bad behavior.

Reddit user discusses woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift after console was destroyed by nephew.

Reddit comments discussing a woman who took back her nephew's Christmas gift after he broke her son's game console.

Commenter discussing woman who took back nephew’s Christmas gift due to his destructive behavior at her home.

Woman took back nephew’s Christmas gift after he damaged it, discussing supervision and responsibility for kids' behavior.

Reddit comments discussing a woman who took back her nephew’s Christmas gift over his behavior issues.

Commenters sided with the parent, pointing out how the sister and the nephew were both acting unreasonably

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Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing a woman who took back her nephew’s Christmas gift after his behavior.

Comment praising woman who took back nephew's Christmas gift for teaching a valuable lesson about jealousy.

Comment praising woman who took back nephew's Christmas gift, explaining actions have consequences and replacement was required.

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Comment on Reddit explaining why the woman took back her nephew's Christmas gift after he smashed her son's.

Comment explaining why woman took back nephew's Christmas gift before the holiday date was reached.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment where a user suggests putting the smashed system in a box as a gift.

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Comment from anon praising a woman who took back her nephew’s Christmas gift for responsible parenting after a 13-year-old broke things.

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