Mom’s Sister-in-Law Tells Her Daughter About Disney Trip She’s Not Allowed to Join — Now the Mom Feels Betrayed
“Apparently I’m wrong and stealing my child’s joy because I won’t let her go out of the country without me,” the mom said
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Minnie Mouse ears at Disneyland Paris (stock image)Adventure is not out there just yet for one kid who recently found out that her mom turned down a relative’s offer to take the kid to Disneyland.
The 3-year-old girl’s mom turned to Reddit’s “Am I the A------?” forum to explain how she felt betrayed after her sister-in-law told the girl about their private conversation involving the mom declining the overseas trip.
“I am in school right now and funds are tight,” wrote the 25-year-old mom, who is also raising a 6-month-old baby. “During Christmas dinner, my sister-in-law announced she was going to Disney and asked if I wanted to come with my kids. The kids were not present for this conversation. I declined stating I had school and not enough [money] for the trip.”
At this point, the relative offered to pay and take the child on the out-of-country trip to Disneyland in the United States.
“I declined once again because I am not comfortable with my child leaving the country without me,” the mom explained. “I sensed she was upset by this answer but we did not discuss it further and haven’t since.”
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Minnie Mouse ears at Disneyland in Shanghai, China (stock image)But then the mother learned that her daughter found out: “I came home today and my 3-year-old ran up to me asking if she could go to Disney with her aunt. When I asked my boyfriend how she found out about Disney he told me the sister-in-law had called while I was out,” she recalled.
During that call, the sister-in-law apparently told the girl that her mother did not want her to go with them to Disneyland. “I thought it was common sense to not rub it in a child’s face that others were going to Disney and she wasn’t, but apparently I’m wrong and stealing my child’s joy because I won’t let her go out of the country without me,” the mom said.
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The mom further explained that she is working toward making enough money in order to take her kids to Disneyland in the future.
“I have always dreamt of bringing my daughter to Disney, which is something I shared with my in-laws. A big part of me going back to school to level up my education was so that I could take my kids on trips often,” she concluded. “I would love for her to be able to go, but I do not feel comfortable with her being so far away from me and not being able to watch her in such a busy destination.”
Wondering if she’s being too strict, the mom asked fellow Redditors, “AITA [am I the a------] for not letting my daughter go to Disneyland?”
“NTA [no the a------], what a hideous piece of manipulation by the SIL [sister-in-law],” one person commented. “You spend a lot of time talking about your initial reasons for saying no to the SIL, which are valid.”
“You are the parent, you said no to the trip. The SIL is now attempting to weaponize the child against you and manipulate the situation so that if SIL doesn't get what she wants, the child will be sad and you will feel guilty,” the person continued. “Please recognize this for what it is (and keep a close eye on this specimen of a SIL in the future).”
The majority of commenters agreed and sided with the mom.
“It’s appalling to me that an adult would go behind a parent's back and get their child all excited about a trip the parent ALREADY SAID NO TO,” another person replied. “You are NOT WRONG.”
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