6-month-old baby breaks woman's $1,000 sunglasses and iPhone, parents refuse to reimburse her because she chose to ignore their warning over infant's behavior: 'That's not even my monthly wage'

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Sep 8, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Babies may be tiny, but they sure are mighty! Don't let their cute, chubby legs and adorable, giant eyes fool you; they are chaos machines of destruction. If you let your guard down for a single second, they'll yank on your earrings, drool all over your phone, and hurl whatever they can get their hands on across the room. Any seasoned parent knows this, which is why they'll usually warn friends and relatives before handing the baby over. Either you hold on tight, or you keep your valuables out of each.

When one woman ignored that advice while holding her friend's 6-month-old son, things went downhill fast. Within moments, her expensivedesigner sunglasses were flying, her brand-new phone hit the floor, and she demanded the parents cough up over £2,000 to replace her things. The baby's mom finds this pretty unreasonable, considering she gave her friend plenty of warning about her son's behavior. 

My smallest nephew was absolutely obsessed with earrings for a time, and to avoid any potential injuries, it was always safer to just remove them before interacting with him. Just like the parents in the story, my cousins warned anyone that wanted to hold him about his fascination with jewelry. Everyone followed their advice, and no one got their ear yanked. In other words, the situation in this story wasn't some random accident, it was totally avoidable. 

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  • 01

    AITA for refusing to pay for our firends now broken Iphone and sunglasses that our son broke

    Baby wearing big sunglasses
    via Katie E from Pexels

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I am 28F, and my husband is 32M; our son in question is 6 months old.
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 03
    Whenever someone holds them, we warn them that they'll try to grab your glasses or phone, and sometimes even your hair. (We are trying to break this habit, but
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 04
    he is 6 months old) Now, I warned my husband that a friend of mine, 33 F, let's call her Jean, came to visit and wants to hold, which we didn't mind at all. I warned her about it all, saying,
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 05
    "ohh, best taking your sunglasses off your head, he'll grab them." Now these are Gucci sunglasses costing almost 800 pounds (which to me is a
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 06
    crazy amount for sunglasses, but each to ther own), she rolled her eyes at me, and accused me of hogging my own baby |, warned her again, she said, "It's fine.
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 07
    Woman wearing pink sunglasses
    via Drobot

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    So she stood holding him. Took her phone out wanting to take a selfie, which again I am fine with as long as it's not posted (dont want a pic of him online as of
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 09
    yet.) He, of course, grabbed her sunglasses, got excited as he got them, waved his hands about the sunglasses, and they flew. She
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 10
    screamed, scaring him. He panicked and flailed, hitting her iPhone to the floor. I quickly took him as she was freaking out.
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 11
    She says I need to buy her a new iPhone 16 and replace her sunglasses, or give her the money for them, which is £2300.
    via u/Actual_Try1272

  • The worst part is that there is absolutely no compassion here from the friend. She's asking for the full amount of money back, not just a fraction of it. She is completely refusing to take accountability for not following the warnings. 

  • 12
    A pair of broken sunglasses
    via dontree_m from Getty Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    said, "we can't pay that as that's not even my monthly wage. Plus, I am on maternity, but also I dont feel like I should, as you ignored my warnings. " I'm called
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 14
    Heartless for not being more understanding of her upset. I was more concerned with calming down my son. My husband just shrugged, telling her I did warn her.
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 15
    I fixed the issues since they were so triggering to people. Also, to those who thought an adult didn't write this, adults can have dyslexia. dyslexia So AITA
    via u/Actual_Try1272
  • 16
    HiddenThinks If your child were 6 years old, I could see an argument for not having taught your child proper behaviour
    via u/HiddenThinks
  • 17
    However, in this situation, the kid is only 6 months old. You provided adequate warning, so NTA. You owe her nothing.
    via u/HiddenThinks
  • 18
    1Corgi_2Cats Exactly this. You can't hold a literal baby to rules to respect other people's space and stuff, because they literally can't
    via u/1Corgi_2Cats
  • 19
    comprehend anything past "ooh shiny-must touch". That's why you listen to the parents about any potential issues before you hold the baby.
    via u/1Corgi_2Cats

  • If the mom hadn't warned her friend, it would make some sense to want to be reimbursed. However, this was nothing but a consequence of her own actions.

  • 20
    A baby pulls on a woman's hair
    via cunfek from Getty Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 21
    Ok-disaster2022 When I read the top, I thought surely you're responsible. But NTA you warned her, specifically about the glasses. She overrode your suggestion. A 6 month old is still a bundle of nerves learning how everything works.
    via u/Ok-disaster2022
  • 22
    Also 800 pounds for non prescription glasses is indeed stupid.
    via u/Ok-disaster2022
  • 23
    swillshop NTA Your financial situation is not relevant. If it was your responsibility, it would remain so. You would be asking for kindness for the debt to be forgiven/ reduced.
    via u/swillshop
  • 24
    But you are NOT responsible. You duly warned her. She took responsibility when she rolled her eyes, dismissed your warning, and said, "it's fine." End of story. End of discussion with her.
    via u/swillshop
  • 25
    Wonderful_Two_6710 NTA. You: "Don't touch that, it's hot." Her, while staring you in the eye, touches it. "OWWWW!!! Why didn't you tell me?!?" All her problems are of her own making.
    via u/Wonderful_Two_6710
  • 26
    stroppo NTA. You did warn her. If she calls you "heartless" simply agree with her; "Yes, I guess I am."
    via u/stroppo
  • 27
    movzx My favorite thing when people try and guilt you is to lean into it. They really don't expect it, and it usually takes the wind out of their sails.
    via u/movzx
  • 28
    Just Looking135 It'll probably end the friendship but you would not be the a- if you didn't pay. She was warned. So I'll go with NTA.
    via u/Just_Looking135
  • 29
    Confident-Ad7531 In this case, this is on the friend. She was warned more than once and she chose to ignore it. And in the future, if she asks to hold your kid, tell her that you're choosing to save her the trouble of having something broken again.
    via u/Confident-Ad7531

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Babies marriage baby married with children adulting friends wife relationships parenting husband couples dad raising kids mom parents
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