15-year-old cries after her dad calls her 5 and 6-year-old half sisters 'princesses' at Disney and refuses to call her one: 'Taylor is a little too old to be a princess but she's very pretty'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jul 13, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

It's not easy to be a teenager who knows that they were the "oops" baby, especially when one of their parents has "moved on" and started a whole new family. There's a right and a wrong way to have kids in two different marriages, and it's of the utmost importance that you make sure your kids from your first marriage don't feel discarded. It shouldn't feel like "This is my wife, my kids, AND my kids from my first marriage." All your kids should be treated with dignity and respect, no matter how you feel about their other parent. 

All parents make mistakes, and there will always be situations where they, however unintentionally, treat one kid differently from another. A parent might think that they don't have to give as much love and attention to a 15-year-old as they do to a 5-year-old, but that is the furthest from the truth. 

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  • The teenage daughter in this story is feeling cast aside by her dad. When she went to Disney World with him, his 2nd wife, and his two young daughters, he called them “princesses,” but said that she was too old to be a princess. She felt differently.

  • 01

    AITA for not calling my oldest daughter a princess?

    I (m37) have 3 daughter's ages 15, 6, and 5. We'll call my 15 year old "Taylor". I had Taylor with my College GF, we broke up when Taylor was just a baby (under a year old). We coparented well together. Now that Taylor is older, she comes here when she wants
    via u/what_50000
  • 02
    D
    via Aiden Craver

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    but primarily stays with her mom since she's closer to her school/ friends. I got married to my now wife 8 years ago, we now have 2 daughters together. Taylor's always gotten along great with my wife and her little sisters.
    via u/what_50000
  • 04
    AND RASPE
    via Anita Austvika (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 05
    Me, my wife and all 3 girls went to Disney world for a few days. Taylor has always been a huge Belle fan. First day at Disney I had some work to do so I got up early and got ready and went to the lobby while the girls got ready.
    via u/what_50000
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10528725248
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 07
    When I went back up to the room my youngest 2 were dressed in princess dresses and crowns. While my oldest had on a very what I would call belle themed outfit. When I saw the younger 21 said you two look just like princesses. My youngest asked
    via u/what_50000
  • 08
    what about Taylor, Taylor in the last few years has been over the cute pet names. So I said I think Taylor is a little too old to be a princess but she's very pretty. Taylor said thanks but sounded a little off. I didnt think anything of it.
    via u/what_50000
  • 09
    We had a good day, Taylor was distant with me but having fun with my wife and her sisters. I figured I would ask her when we got back to the hotel. Well I got a long angry text from my ex wife, saying Taylor had texted her that I called her sisters princesses but not her and said she was too old to be a princess and that really hurt her feelings I guess. I
    via u/what_50000
  • 10
    reminded my ex that Taylor has hated cute pet names for years now. My ex said considering we're at Disney and Taylor was in a Belle themed outfit I should have thought that she might have wanted to be a princess for the day. My ex said I was being a oblivious AH, I tried talking to
    via u/what_50000
  • 11
    Taylor but she doesn't want to talk about it and hasnt talked to me much. My wife thinks I could have handled the situation better and made it up to Taylor. I don't think assuming my teen daughter wouldn't want to be called a princess is being an AH.
    via u/what_50000
  • 12
    Only-Ingenuity 7889 She was dressed like her favorite freaking PRINCESS. Taylor probably took it as you fawning over your two youngest darlings, then you had to make up something polite for her after your FIVE YEAR OLD could read the room better than you did and called you on it.
    via u/Only-Ingenuity7889
  • 13
    I'd recommend a one on one outing with her. Tell her she may not want to talk about it, but you need to, so she can just listen. Be honest - she's growing up and you don't always know how to handle it. Good luck. YTA
    via u/Only-Ingenuity7889
  • 14
    idoc-k18 This is perfect. I would just add that even if she thinks she is too old for pet names. Somewhere down deep even 15yo girls want to be their daddy's princess and you shouldn't care about temporarily possibly embarrassing her.
    via u/idoc-k18
  • 15
    Dis-Organizer Especially at Disney when your sisters are being called princesses!
    via u/Dis-Organizer
  • 16
    agoldgold I'm a grown woman and I am my dad's Baby, Princess, Kiddo, and various embarrassing puns on my name. It shows my dad loves me. A teen might be trying to differentiate from their parents hard, but they still want the steady reassurance that they're always going to be loved. The embarrassing but loving nickname might get vocally rejected, but most kids get the affection and use it as a touchstone for their relationship with their parents. You don't have to use it in front of her friends,
    via u/agoldgold
  • 17
    AltairaMorbius2200CE Yeah, you THINK teens are too old for that stuff, but they want you to do it, even if it's just so they can go "UGH! I'm not a BABY!" Like, break out the stickers in a HS classroom and see what happens if a kid doesn't get one on their paper. OP: time to read up on your Dr Lisa Damour. She has a lot of great books etc about teens, especially teen girls.
    via u/AltairaMorbius2200CE
  • 18
    Finding NemosAnus YTA. You should have called her a princess, let her roll her eyes, then said "it doesn't matter how old you get, you'll always be my princess". You know... typical dad stuff.
    via u/FindingNemosAn*s
  • 19
    hoardbooksanddragons This is 100% what I was going to write. It's like how mums say "you'll always be MY baby" when your teenager says they aren't a baby. Dads should say "you'll always be MY princess" and then let them groan and all "ugh daaaadddd". It's in the parent manual.
    via u/hoardbooksanddragons
  • 20
    CommandAble2233 Taylor was an oops-baby from the high school GF. It's very clear OP now has his Real Family, and doesn't really care what she does. Note that Taylor comes over "when she wants to". This means he's got no court-mandated time with his own daughter. He didn't fight for weekends or Tuesdays or every third month. Nope; Taylor lives with her mother and shows up sometimes.
    via u/CommandAble2233
  • 21
    Impossible_Rain_4727 YTA: Would it have been that hard to simply say "You three look lovely"? Like, you complimented two of your children and ignored one of them - the same one who doesn't spend a lot of time with you. Props to your youngest for trying to include Taylor. She demonstrated more emotional intelligence in that moment than you did.
    via u/Impossible_Rain_4727
  • 22
    Gaberahamj Also how hard is it to just say I'm sorry? You said something that unintentionally hurt your daughters feelings. Even if you don't think it should have upset her, it clearly did so why not apologize?
    via u/Gaberahamj
  • 23
    Maybe it wasn't not being called a princess that hurt her, maybe it was that you singled her out and made her feel less special than her little sisters. Like the fact that she felt more comfortable talking to her mom than talking to you about this says a lot.
    via u/Gaberahamj
  • 24
    Fine-Sherbert-140 YTA. Would you rather be "right" and the "winner," or have a relationship with your daughter? Apologize. Be thoughtful in the future. Your oldest daughter likely realizes that her sisters get more of your time and affection. Don't make her beg, dude. Just put your big boy pants on and tell her you were wrong to be dismissive and that you love her and she's a princess.
    via u/Fine-Sherbert-140
  • 25
    HowlPen YTA for making so many excuses instead of just apologizing to your kid. Only kids 12 and under can dress up in costume at Disney parks. From your description, it sounds like your daughter was doing something called DisneyBounding. This is a trend where teens and adults pick an outfit based on their favorite character. Your daughter was showing with her outfit that she wanted to be Belle for the day, and you broke some of the magic by not going along with her. If you were more curious abo
    via u/HowlPen

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princess family drama teenager sisters teenagers disney princesses disney world half sister raising teens dad family sister daughter disneyland Father
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