Aunt takes back ungrateful 14-year-old's birthday gift after entitled reaction, gifts it to her 10-year-old brother instead to teach her a lesson: "I wanted an iPhone, Auntie"

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Mar 18, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

How do you react when you receive a gift that you don't really like? Small children tend to make it pretty obvious, often earning a rebuke from an embarassed parent. Kids eventually learn that honesty is not the best policy in these situations, and that they should focus more on feeling gratitude on the thought behind the gift – or at least pretend to. 

Kids more often than not learn to smile and say, "Thanks," to dissapointing presents by the time they're in grade school to varying levels of convincingness. However, in our story today, we meet a teenager who has no quite learned her lesson yet. When she receives and expensive Android phone for her birthday from her aunt, she remarks that she would have preferred an iPhone instead of thanking her. Aiming to teach the entitled teen a lesson, our protagonist asks for the phone back and regifts it to her younger brother. Get all the details of this story by scrolling down below. 

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  • 01

    AITA for taking back my Niece's birthday gift and giving it to her brother instead?

    "This is so lame. I wish she just got me an iPhone."
    via Kaboompics.com from Pexels

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    So my (32F) favorite niece (14F) is having her birthday this Sunday. I decided to buy her a nice Android phone worth about $400 using my credit card, thinking she could use it for school, communication, and social media. I was genuinely excited to give it to her, expecting she'd be happy.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 03
    Cheezburger Image 10481134848
    via tomodaji

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 04
    At first, she was excited too, until she saw the phone. Her reaction? "Why this? I wanted an iPhone, Auntie." She then told me that most of her friends and classmates have iPhones. That stung, but I told her if she gets good grades next semester, maybe we can talk about it. She just said, "Okay."
    via u/ItsFeline_

  • My mother would never forgive me for embarassing her by reacting like this to an expensive gift at such a grown age. 

  • 05
    I thought that was the end of it, but as I was about to leave, I overheard her complaining: "This is so lame. I wish she just got me an iPhone." She even slammed something on the table in frustration. That
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10481135360
    via davideangeliniphotos

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    honestly hurt because I worked hard to get her a decent phone, even more expensive than what I personally use. I ignored her messages after that because I needed time to cool off.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 08
    The next day, I finally checked her messages. She apologized, but still insisted that she really wanted an iPhone. That's when I made a decision.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 09
    I went to their house and asked for the phone back. She thought I was going to replace it with an iPhone, but I told her if she really wanted one, she could save up for it, get a part-time job, or use her
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 10
    allowance. (She sometimes does live selling of K- pop merch with her friends, and they use their earnings to go to fancy cafés, so I know she can save if she wants to.)
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 11
    Meanwhile, her younger brother (10M), who's a consistently high-achieving student, walked by, greeted me politely, and jokingly said, "Wow, new phone? Nice, wish I had one." That made me laugh, and in the moment, I just handed him the phone and
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10481135104
    via YakobchukOlena

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    asked if he wanted it. He thought I was joking at first, but when he realized I was serious, he got so excited. He even said, "I'll pay you back when I grow up and get a job. Just don't be impatient, okay?" |
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 14
    laughed and told him he didn't have to. He thanked me a bunch of times and immediately asked if he could install Mobile Legends, but promised he'd still focus on school. I told him that was fine.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 15
    I stepped away to talk to my sister (their mom) about my niece's behavior, and she apologized, saying she'd talk to her. When I mentioned I gave the phone to her son instead, she seemed a bit surprised and said I didn't need to give him something that expensive-he would've been happy with a much cheaper one. But I told her it was fine.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 16
    As I was leaving, I walked past the living room and saw my nephew happily playing on his new phone, completely absorbed in his game. His sister sat next to him, sulking. I even heard him casually say, "Auntie is so nice, she gave me a phone! I think it's expensive too."...completely unaware of how bitter
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 17
    his sister looked beside him. At that moment, I felt a mix of amusement and guilt. I didn't intend to be petty, I just didn't think it was right for her to act so entitled over a gift. But now I wonder if I overreacted by taking it back instead of just letting her deal with her disappointment.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 18
    I don't regret giving it to my nephew, though. He was genuinely grateful, and I know he'll appreciate and take care of it. Still, I can't help but feel a little bad seeing my niece sulking. Maybe she'll learn from this, or maybe I should've handled it differently. So, AITA?
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 19
    Mollynoniiii You gave your niece a generous gift, and she acted entitled and ungrateful. A gift isn't a custom order. Your nephew appreciated it, so it went to the right person. Hopefully, your niece learns a lesson about gratitude
    via u/Mollynoniiii
  • 20
    ItsFeline_ Yep, that's what I was thinking. I wanted to make her happy, but I'm not about to reward that kind of attitude. At least it ended up with someone who truly appreciates it.
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 21
    pliairwe Her attitude was beyond entitled. You spent your hard-earned money on a generous gift, and she had the audacity to complain about it? Actions have consequences, and this was a well-earned one
    via u/pliairwe

  • She learned an important lesson! It was absolutely the right thing to do. 

  • 22
    aabrnet18 Gifts should be received with gratitude, not complaints. Her reaction was disappointing, and OP handled it perfectly. Hopefully, she learns from this experience.
    via u/aabrnet18
  • 23
    Life_Scratch_2807 You just taught your neice a valuable lesson.
    via u/Life_Scratch_2807
  • 24
    ItsFeline_ OP Yeah, that's what I'm hoping!
    via u/ItsFeline_
  • 25
    Lexi_Barbie NTA, you taught your niece some manners and its very much fine. You can see how elated your nephew was over what your niece was not thankful for. Your nephew deserves it more than she does
    via u/Lexi_Barbie
  • 26
    Gretel NoHans I agree but he's 10. I'm probably gonna be downvoted to h I but if someone gave my 10 year old son a phone, I wouldn't be happy about it. Studies show time and time again we're doing a disservice to kids by giving them phones so early.
    via u/GretelNoHans

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nephews family drama android birthday sibling rivalry siblings phone niece reddit story relationships aunt love entitled family Reddit entitled people iphone
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