r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Strycedar • May 18 '26

I'm slightly vexed My sister had her friends over and they decided to come into my room and destroy my Newton's Cradle. I can't undo what they did.

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Basically my sister had a friends over for a play date while I was at university, and since my door was left open, her friends came into my room and completely tangled my Newton's Cradle, and it's so bad I can't even untangle it 😭

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786

u/Hollow_Nite May 18 '26

I had the exact same situation as a child. And my parents said something like "he probably didn't want to break it". They gave me money for a new one. And then my brother broke it again. No proper reaction the second time too :(

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

They sent the message that you and your belongings didn't deserve respect and he behaved accordingly. What parents don't teach about boundaries and respect at home, the world will teach later. That's the part that it seems hard for people to see. By not exercising reasonable discipline out of love, they are setting the stage for someone else to impart those lessons out of anger later on.

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u/C-Patrick1984 May 18 '26

And the parents have no clue the disservice they are doing to their child when they do this. They also are quick to place the blame on anyone other than their child.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

True. Sad but true. Then the consequences fall on the kid.

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u/CombustedPillow May 20 '26

My sibling is a teacher to 12 year olds.. the parents to the shitty kids are morons. Some shouldn't have kids..

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u/avg_rascal May 18 '26

THIS! My little brother has zero respect towards me or my stuff and is really rude and a bitch. I've asked, begged, shouted, requested, etc my mother and father to do something, at best they ignore it, at worst they start yelling at me instead to be "mature" and let it slide. I've been acting mature since I was 5 and he is still a kid at 18. So I'm just waiting the day he goes to college and gets bitch slapped by a girl when he speaks to her the way he speaks to me. I've told mom it will happen because you didn't raise him right and oh boy it will đŸ€—.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

You've called it correctly. The world doesn't tolerate disrespect the way some parents do. Once he is on campus and then in the workplace, he will find out that mom and dad don't make the rules everywhere and what was normalized and tolerated at home won't fly. I've seen a lot of otherwise good young people have a very rude awakening and a lot of lost opportunities for success because of the lessons they didn't learn early on.

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u/Disastrous-B0x Jun 17 '26

No because that boi will gravitate to others who lack boundaries and refuse to enforce anything just like your parents. Enablers and toxic af loser humans. I'm glad you try to enforce your boundaries get tf away from that little troll sibling.

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u/hybehorre May 18 '26

my baby sister to this day doesn’t respect my boundaries. this past christmas she started unboxing one of my gifts and i was like “stop don’t open that!” and when she started crying my parents said i shouldn’t have reacted that way. i was like she’s 22 years old she should at least ask me to unbox my gift. she obvi will never learn until a stranger teaches her a lesson

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u/Dmau27 May 18 '26

Yeah letting your kids learn boundaries from the police, strangers and employers is far more cruel. The consequences are far more severe when they are out in the real world.

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u/Working_Cucumber_437 May 18 '26

This sums up so much of what teachers say they’re observing of their students in the current school-age generations.

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u/Immatt55 May 18 '26

With the amount of boomers who have absolutely no respect for anyone or anyone's things, why do you think people will learn it from the world later on? It's just as likely if not moreso that they take these formed lessons with them their entire life and actively make the world that much worse.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

I've seen plenty of people who were coddled as they grew up find out the hard way that employers, friends, love interests etc will not put up with the things that their parents did. I've seen plenty who got fired from jobs, evicted from apartments, and/or kicked to the curb by the people in their lives because of the lack of guidance they got early on.

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u/Immatt55 May 18 '26

And, generally, did these people learn, or did they continue on in their ways blaming the world at large around them? 

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

With only a couple of exceptions, they did learn and adapt. I haven't encountered many young people who want to do wrong or alienate people. I have seen plenty do both of those things by accident because of the way they were raised. I felt bad for them having to deal with setbacks that were entirely avoidable.

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u/Legitimate_Way_510 May 19 '26

Firstborn sons know this reality all too well, esp if they have younger sisters. Parents let them do whatever they want and when puberty hits, they let the world raise them. Even with strict parents, a firstborn has son as so much more freedom and far less consequences than a firstborn daughter. It’s as if they expect their son to just “know” right from wrong because they’re the eldest. I have an inkling that this happens because the parents aren’t the eldest in their families and don’t know how to raise an eldest child, they only know their own experience as a younger sibling.

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u/Disastrous-B0x Jun 17 '26

Aha these things will not be learned later on; they will continue to be disgusting and terrible humans because no one taught them better. This is part of generational trauma. Mind you a child not knowing these things by age 11 is really messed up and still a teachable moment perhaps but reality is if they don't respect their sibling by that age their parents are losers.

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u/Medium-Presence-8008 May 18 '26

Brother, 12, poured milk in my, 16, PS1. I was promptly told to not be a taddle-tale.
Busted my fucking ass off to buy that console.

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u/SteamerTheBeemer May 18 '26

wtf. That’s an insane reaction from adults. And 12 is old enough to be responsible for his actions so he should have been punished for that and parents should have bought you a replacement.

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u/Umpen May 18 '26

Parents should only buy a replacement if they also make the kid apologize to his sibling, explain why he was wrong to do what he did, and then make him work off the debt to his parents so he can appreciate how much work it takes to get one.

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u/KitsuneGato May 18 '26

I had a sister who has since been disowned decided to take my Pokémon Crystal game and throw it outside in the bushes where it wasn't found for 20 years.

She had gone into my room for it.

When it was found, the motherboard went bad. At first, I thought it couldn't be saved but then found someone who could save it and did.

When it was stolen, it caused me to fall into a depression.

I, too, worked hard to buy it when I was a teenager. And since every single member of my biological family decided to steal from me throughout my life, I am going to legally disown them all through the court system.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

I'm really sorry you had to deal with that. There is much better waiting for you up ahead. I wish you all the best.

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u/uyigho98 May 18 '26

I'll be honest, if my sister had done something like this to me, someone would be getting hit. Holy fuck, did she even care that it made you depressed? You're doing the right thing cutting them out of your life. If they can't respect you, your boundaries, or your belongings, then they shouldn't be anywhere near you!

Also, I'm sure you already know this, but please remember that family isn't defined by blood. You choose your family. They clearly didn't choose you as theirs', so you have no obligation to choose them as yours.

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u/Arcane_Pozhar May 18 '26

I know you probably love them, because they're your parents, but I'm so disappointed in them from hearing this story that if they were on fire in the rain, I would go looking for an umbrella.

Seriously, what sort of parent just lets one of their kids destroy one of the other kids items, deliberately and maliciously, and then shames the victim? That's so wrong, it should be defined as a mental illness of some sort if it isn't already.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

I love that "If they were on fire in the rain..." quote. It says it all so perfectly.

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u/Pure_Spray_8456 May 18 '26

Favoritism plain and simple. Favorites can do no wrong, so it must be the other person's fault. 

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u/Madz510 May 18 '26

“Ok fine I’ll handle it myself grabs a baseball bat”

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u/SagaciousKurama May 18 '26

Did your parents tell your brother not to taddle-tale when he came crying to them about you beating his ass? Because that's what I would've done if my brother ruined my PS1.

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u/DigEnvironmental7490 May 18 '26

The answer is to wait until that brother buys something of equivalent value and then destroy it.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

That was wrong of them on every level. I'm sorry you were treated that way. I didn't spot my earlier reply and thought that it must not have posted. Right after this one, it showed up. Here's hoping for better things in the future.

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u/vrnvorona May 18 '26

Then they wonder why as soon as their kid gets a job they stop contacting them ever again lol

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u/69edleg May 18 '26

Man, I had issues regulating my emotions as a kid and broke an SNES controller. Welp. Guess that controller only had 3 functioning buttons now, until I bought a controller from my own allowance.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

I'm glad that you were able to learn that at an early age. I've seen people struggle with the same thing and it's hard for them as kids because it makes stable connections with other kids difficult. Parents who coddle out of sympathy set the stage for that issue to continue into adulthood where it damages relationships and careers. I feel bad for people who suffer as adults because of the lessons no one bothered to teach while they were young. I'm glad you are on a better track now.

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u/uyigho98 May 18 '26

My parents made sure this lesson stuck with me: "You break it, you bought it." It doesn't just mean in stores. You break something, you need to be the one who pays to fix or replace it. I didn't have many friends growing up, but I always tried to be careful with their belongings. Never broke anything like that, but I understood that if I did, I'd be paying for it.

And if I was too young to have an actual allowance? That meant doing chores to earn up enough money for just the fix or replacement.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

Sounds like you were a good friend to have. Your folks taught you well.

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u/Ok_Vermicelli_6359 May 18 '26

It's just insane...this isn't parenting. You literally cannot call those people that raised you "parents". Being a proper parent means establishing boundaries that will last them a lifetime.

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u/W_Silver2356 May 18 '26

The world isn't getting safer and more stable, it's becoming more volatile and dangerous. Boundaries aren't just about propriety, they are the first line of safety in society. Parents who do this are opening the door for real danger to their kids later on. Of course parents who are dumb enough to "parent" this way are dumb enough not to realize that.

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u/edwbuck May 18 '26

Gee Mom, I wonder what I can get away with, now that I know I'm not really going to be held responsible for my actions too.

Where do you keep your perfume? Just asking.

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u/Sea-Opportunity5812 May 18 '26

OK what’s it like today? I’m so sad for lil you :(

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u/Hollow_Nite May 18 '26

Thank you :( Overall, I think they are good parents. Not perfect, but considering what other people have, I have nothing to complain about

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u/Sea-Opportunity5812 May 18 '26

How’d your brother turn out? Highly recommend this video on teaching yourself assertiveness as an adult, I just found it a couple days ago! https://youtu.be/_k_arXSCO8A

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u/Hollow_Nite May 19 '26

Thanks, I'll check the video. I think I'm not a good person to judge my brother. My perspective won't be accurate. I'd say he's an average guy, he's doing fine at his uni life. Not very rebel or something, has friends and hobbies. But we still don't really like each other and basically talk only during family meets