Mom refuses to pay for the damage her 5-year-old twin boys made after they drew on aunt's walls in her house, claiming it's not their fault: ‘You are punishing creativity’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 14, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Whenever my nieces come to visit, I have a tiny (ok, maybe not so tiny) fear that they are going to ruin or break at least one thing in my house. So naturally, I always put away everything breakable out of their reach, and hide anything precious that I don't want to get damaged. 

Unfortunately, some things cannot be put away, like walls. You can't really prevent a kid from touching the walls, or in the case of the story below, drawing on them. That is where their parents should come into play. They should educate their kids so they'll know that they cannot take a marker and go to town on the walls. 

When the aunt in this story handed her 5-year-old twin nephews some washable markers and paper, she did not expect to return to the living room and find scribbles on the walls. Her newly painted walls, mind you. But when she asked her sister-in-law to help cover the costs of the repaint, the SIL refused, claiming she should not be punished for her kids' actions.

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  • The family is now split between the two women. Some think the aunt should let it go and let the accident slide; others think the mom should be held accountable for her poor parenting. 

    What do you think? Read the full story below and let us know.

  • Back View Shot of a Kid Painting the White Wall, title: "My stomach dropped wall had loops and zigzags all over"
    via Anastasia Shuraeva

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

  • AITA FOR ASKING MY SISTER IN LAW TO HELP PAY FOR CLEANING AFTER HER KIDS DREW ON MY WALLS?

    I'm 25F, my husband is 23m. We just repainted our living room after weeks of patching and sanding.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • You could still smell the paint. We hosted family dinner last weekend, nothing fancy, pasta and garlic bread, everyone brought something.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • My sister in law Jess 32F brought her twins 5M so I set up a kids table in the den with paper washable markers, and snacks so they'd have their own area.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • went to grab more drinks and my stomach dropped because living room wall had loops and zigzags all over the fresh paint...
    via OkInfluence8022
  • One of the twins handed me a marker cap and said oopsie. I didn't even know what to say for a second.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • I called Jess in. She kind of laughed and said boys will be boys, they'll get bored, so I tried wiping and the color just smeared into the matte paint.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • Jess said they're little once and I can repaint. That stung. I'd spent nights on that wall, the next morning I bought the fancy cleaners the paint store recommended.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • The ink lifted in spots, so did the paint. We called a painter and he texted a quote for 200 to sand, prime, and redo the one wall.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • So I texted Jess asking if she could help cover it since I set up the drawing area and the kids wandered anyway.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • She said I was punishing creativity and I should have put the markers away completely.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • Tom says I'm making too much of it. He feels for Jess, she's a single mom and money is tight, and he thinks this just starts drama.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • My mom said Jess should at least offer something. Tom's brother helped me clean that night without making a scene and said he'd talk to her.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • Brown Wooden Ladder Beside Painting Materials
    via Blue Bird

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

  • His mom told me to chill, kids will be kids.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • I keep going back and forth. We put time and money into the space, and I tried to plan for the twins.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • Asking for help with the repaint feels fair to me, and then I think about Jess's budget and I feel mean.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • What really got me was the laugh and the it's just paint comment and it made me feel silly for caring about my own house.
    via OkInfluence8022
  • AITA for asking my sister in law to pay part of the repainting cost?
    via OkInfluence8022
  • Medical-Aide5586 buy a multipack of sharpies to gift the twins next time you visit them at their house.
    via Medical-Aide5586
  • DgShwgrl ESH. Never leave kids alone with items that will harm themselves or their surroundings. You gave them markers. That's on you.
    via DgShwgrl
  • No one supervised them. They are five. You all sk. The mother is excusing the behaviour as creativity. She's an ah le setting her kids up for failure instead of teaching them manners, rules and civility.
    via DgShwgrl
  • Le-Chat-Blanc NTA, but I wouldn't push her to pay for it. I would just never invite them over to your home again. When they ask, if they ask, say they aren't welcome after they damaged your home.
    via Le-Chat-Blanc
  • Be firm. Say you are happy to go to their house or meet in the community. Btw, I'd lose my sh if my neices and nephews drew on my walls. Their parents would, too.
    via Le-Chat-Blanc
  • porterramses At 5 they don't know to not color on walls? Their mom needs to split the cost of repair. Don't host them again.
    via porterramses

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Tags

family drama aita drawing walls kids mother paint siblings children's drawings parenting aunt family sister money women parents children Father
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