28-year-old dad refuses to lend baby stroller to 35-year-old brother, brother ignores him and takes the stroller anyway, leading to a family dispute when dad demands it back: ‘You're stealing from a baby’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 7, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

If you know people with kids, and you plan on having kids yourself, you can rest assured that they will happily give you so much free baby stuff. Whether it is clothes, a crib, or a stroller, everyone has at least one hand-me-down they got from their loved ones, and if it helps them save money, no one's complaining.

My sister, for example, has three different boxes of clothes she is saving for the day I have a baby of my own, and I am positive that if I send a text to the cousins' group chat, I will not have to buy a single thing because they would all happily contibute whatever baby thing they have lying around the house.

However, if you have stuff that you can't wait to pass along to someone else, heed this warning: don't let more than one person count on the things you want to give away.

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  • Even though the dad in the story below didn't actually promise anything to his brother, that didn't stop the brother from demanding to get things from him that were already supposed to go to someone else. And when the brother decided to simply take what he thought was rightfully his, things got ugly…

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    via Kamaji Ogino

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

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    AITA for taking back a stroller from my brother after he took it without asking and giving it to a friend instead?

    Right, so I (28M) have always had a somewhat strained relationship with my older brother (35M). He was, to put it bluntly, rather cruel to me
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    throughout our childhood. He bu ied me quite relentlessly until he left home after finishing school. We were raised by a single mum who was
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    doing her absolute best to keep things afloat, and I never told her what was going on at the time because I didn't want to add to her burdens.
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    These days, I'm married with a young son and a stable job. My brother, on the other hand, has fallen on hard times, mostly due to a longstanding
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    g bling problem that's left him in serious financial trouble. A few years ago, he attempted to reconnect and offer something of an apology,
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    but it felt rather performative, if I'm honest. I've kept things civil, but distant.
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    Now, to the heart of the matter, last month, whilst I was at work, my brother came to my home and took my son's old stroller
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    without so much as a message. It's a rather expensive bit of kit, still in excellent condition, and I had already promised it to one of my closest friends,
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    whose wife is expecting their first child. I'd told him weeks in advance that it was his, and he was genuinely touched.
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    When I confronted my brother about it, he was completely dismissive. He said something like, "I'm your brother, that's your nephew. Why are you
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    helping them over your own family?" as though that somehow settled the matter. Frankly, I found the entitlement staggering.
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    Cheezburger Image 10537722880
    via SolStock

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

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    So, last week, I drove over to his flat while he was out and had a word with his wife, who, to her credit, was polite but clearly upset. She said
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    their son had grown used to the stroller and they simply couldn't afford another. I told her I sympathised, but it had been promised to someone else and,
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    ultimately, it had never been theirs to begin with. I took it back and delivered it to my friend, just as I'd said I would.
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    Later that day, my brother rang me in a fury, accusing me of being heartless and disloyal, and said I'd "stolen from a
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    baby" and was "a disgrace to the family." I've since blocked him. My wife fully supports my decision. My mum hasn't said anything either way.
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    A couple of mutual acquaintances, however, reckon I was too harsh and that since I can "afford to be generous," I should have just let them keep it.
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    So, AITA for taking the pram back and giving it to the person I'd promised it to, instead of letting my brother keep it after he took it without asking?
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    ETA: To those suggesting this story is fake because you can't fathom how my brother could've just walked in and taken the pram, as if I'd handed him
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    a spare key, have you considered the rather obvious possibility that my wife was at home at the time, and he simply lied to her, claiming I'd already said yes? Yeah that's what happened.
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    What actually happened was this: he came over while I was at work and had a chat with my wife. He said he was going to take the pram, and she asked him something
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    along the lines of, "Have you spoken to my husband about this?" He told her yes, that I'd already given him the go- ahead. So naturally, she assumed it was all sorted
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    and didn't question it. She didn't think for a second that he might be lying. So he did take it without my permission.
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    Waste Worker6122 So basically your brother stole your property and when you retrieved it he verbally ab ed you. In what universe is that okay? Apparently your brother's, who occupies a different universe than normal people. NTA.
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    Traditional-Swan-130 NTA. Your brother stole from you. Doesn't matter who it was for, or that it was "family". He didn't ask, didn't apologize, and acted entitled when called out. You gave it to the person you promised it to, end of story
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    mallorymallows NTA. You made a promise, and he broke your trust. You didn't "steal from a baby", you took back something that was never his to begin with. Actions have consequences
    via mallorymallows

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family drama aita baby stealing kids brother mother siblings wife reddit story parenting borrow stroller family Reddit parents children Father
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