Woman backed for banning niece, 13, from her house: “Just a kid”

A woman’s decision to ban her niece from her house after the teen knowingly destroyed a collection of special edition books has sparked widespread support online.

On Tuesday, /u/AnnualHappy2923 wrote about the incident on Reddit, saying it had led to a family rift over boundaries, property and consequences.

The post has since amassed more than 20,000 upvotes. Newsweek has contacted /u/AnnualHappy2923 for more information via Reddit.

Becky Whetstone, a marriage and family therapist and the author of I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage, supported the poster’s stance, telling Newsweek the child’s behavior was “shameless and entitled.”

In the post, the Redditor described her daughter Brooke’s deep love of reading and her expansive collection of limited edition books, which she had spent years building. Recently, Brooke, 16, purchased a special edition of a book she already owned, saving her allowance in anticipation.

However, the excitement was short-lived as Mariah, her 13-year-old cousin, destroyed the prized book along with others during an unapproved visit to Brooke’s room.

Mariah and her mother, the poster’s sister Lindsey, had been visiting the house for a family gathering while Brooke was out. As the adults were catching up, Mariah asked to use the bathroom and went off unsupervised.

Brooke later returned home only to find some of her books ripped apart and sprawled out all over her bedroom. According to the poster, her daughter was “in tears at the destruction.” She added that since Brooke preferred to avoid confrontation, she intervened on her behalf.

“I told Mariah that she needs to apologize to Brooke, clean up the mess she made and that she would no longer be welcomed in my house,” the poster wrote.

She also demanded that Lindsey reimburse Brooke for the ruined books, which included limited editions that could not be replaced. Lindsey refused, defending her daughter by arguing that Mariah was “just a kid” and did not know any better.

When pressed further, Lindsey blamed Brooke for leaving the books “out,” an accusation the poster refuted as the books had been stored in Brooke’s room.

“I lost my cool and told her that they weren’t out. They were put away in her room where Mariah wasn’t allowed to be without Brooke’s permission,” the poster wrote.

The confrontation ended with Lindsey calling her sister “a greedy b****” and leaving the house with Mariah.

Complicating matters further, the poster said the incident was not the first time Mariah had damaged Brooke’s property. She said Brooke had lent Mariah two books last year to encourage her interest in reading. But Mariah returned them in poor condition.

After that incident, Brooke refused to lend her cousin any more books, a decision that upset Mariah and might have motivated her recent behavior.

The poster said her family was quick to criticize her handling of the situation, insisting she was being too harsh on Mariah, given her age. However, Reddit users have overwhelmingly sided with her. Many agreed that Mariah should be old enough to understand boundaries and respect for others’ property.

“A 13-year-old? Wow. Even 5-year-olds know better than that. Your family can f*** off, hold your ground,” one reader commented.

Another added: “I had to go back and check the kid’s age again. 5 gets a time out. 13? She should’ve been grounded. How dumb is that mom?”

Whetstone told Newsweek, “Any 13-year-old of average intelligence or above understands boundaries, the basic rules of going through other people’s things, and certainly knows not to destroy other people’s property.”

In the therapist’s view, the family’s attempts to shift the blame onto Brooke and her mother were emblematic of deeper issues.

“People show us who they are through their words and actions, and the bottom-line message from Lindsey and Mariah is, ‘We can do what we want no matter what, and if you call us out on our bad behavior and boundary violations, we will make it your fault and rally the troops against you.’ Who needs people in their life like that?” she said.

While the family remains divided, online public opinion is clear: The teenager’s actions warranted consequences.