13-year-old daughter opens older sister's birthday present and takes it for herself, sister confronts her, only to be told by mom that siblings share everything: ‘You need to stop’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Oct 28, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

"Sharing is caring" is a phrase we all heard at some point in our lives, yet we all know that this statement is not necessarily true all the time. Such a thing as "too much sharing" actually exists, especially when people take advantage of others.

Take the younger sister in the story below as an example. She is 13 years old and fully believes that she has a right to everything that her 23-year-old sister owns. She has no problem taking her older sister's belongings without even asking for permission, and her entitled behavior is only encouraged by her entitled mother.

The situation reached a boiling point when the younger sister decided to open a birthday present and take the gifts there to herself. Before her older sister even had a chance to look at what she was given, the stuff was already gone and used by the teen. This behavior made the older sister realize that something must be said, but her reprimand was not received kindly by the young teen's mother.

Keep scrolling to read the full story. After that, check out this story about parents who gave their daughter a $1.2M property, causing a sibling rivalry.

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  • 01
    A Teenage Girl Putting on Makeup
    via Karola G

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

  • 02

    AITA for trying to set a boundary with my little sister after she opened my birthday present?

    23F, little sister is 13F. I live back & forth between my mum's and my dad's house.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 03
    All of my siblings are half-siblings on my dad's side. I love my little sister but lately I've been getting annoyed about certain boundaries she crosses.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 04
    She's obsessed with face cream, hand cream, body spray, perfume, any hair products that smell good, lip gloss/balm - she has a very big collection of all these things.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 05
    I once sat and counted how many lip stuff she has accumulated over the years and I counted 37.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 06
    Despite having TONS of her own, she always asks to borrow mine and often ends up using up the entire thing (one of my perfumes was almost completely used up because she would spray it at least 20 times every time she used it) She gets upset if I don't share my stuff with her.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 07
    For example, I got a body mist from Bath & Body Works recently because I loved the smell.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 08
    I decided to leave it at my mum's house. My sister saw it in the background during a facetime and said "oh that looks like it smells good, can you bring it the next time you come here?!" and I jokingly said something along the lines of "I think we've got more than enough perfumes at dads", and she was visibly upset.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 09
    I'm quite a patient person so I brush all of this off bc she's my lil sister and that's just what siblings do, right?
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10568152832
    via stagestock

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

  • 11
    But this recent situation has really upset me and I don't know if I'm overreacting or not.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 12
    So: It was my birthday on Tuesday. I went to my dad's to celebrate after work.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 13
    When I sat down to open presents | noticed that all of them were intact except one, of which the packaging had been ripped open and the contents removed.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 14
    Hm, weird, so I asked my little sister what happened and she told me that it was one of my brother's gifts to me (a set that included hand cream, a nail file, a nail/cuticle oil, and a little nail clipper) and she "really wanted to try it" and couldn't wait for me to open it so she decided to go ahead and open it herself and try everything out.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 15
    Half the hand cream had been squeezed out of the tube, the nail file was used because it had those tell tale scratches on it, and the small nail/cuticle oil bottle wasn't closed properly so it was also opened.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 16
    I understand that, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal, but it made me sad that she had just gone and opened my gift like that without even thinking to consult me first.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 17
    I said to her, verbatim, "You need to stop thinking all of my things are automatically yours too." Her mum taught her that everything that belongs to your siblings also belongs to you.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 18
    Her philosophy: siblings share everything. So, setting a boundary is very difficult; My sister got mad because I "never share" my things with her anymore and am "purposely" leaving some of my stuff at my mum's place to avoid her using them.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 19
    Her mum called me "quite selfish" for belittling my own sister for wanting to be "closer to me" by borrowing my things.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 20
    AITA? WIBTA if I continued to be harsh about these boundaries?
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 21
    Resilient_Knee Obviously NTA, but you should probably either stop living there or start keeping all your stuff at the other house if the parent is encouraging her behavior, it doesn't really matter what boundaries you set because I doubt she'll listen
    via Resilient_Knee
  • 22
    OP lalaokoklalaokok a lot of people are suggesting I move out and get my own place, but I simply can't afford to right now. I'm still studying (masters degree) and have a part time job on the side that doesn't pay well enough to afford rent in london where it's super expensive to rent anywhere that's decent. hopefully when i graduate i'll be able to get a full time job that pays well and allows me to move out
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 23
    Resilient_Knee So live full time with your other parent then? You're an adult. Why are you still going back and forth between the two houses like you're on a custody schedule? Especially when one of the houses has a child that steals your things and parents that encourage her and refuse to help you
    via Resilient_Knee
  • 24
    OP lalaokoklalaokok I get that and you're definitely right, and I do spend much more time at my mum's compared to my dad's, but I don't wanna lose touch with my siblings and dad which is why I visit them a lot.
    via lalaokoklalaokok
  • 25
    Ok_Expression7723 Where is your dad in all of this? Why isn't he parenting her? Get a lock for your door. She has lost all privileges in your room, lost access to any of your stuff, and she should be grounded. Her allowance should be going to you until she's paid for the birthday present she stole and ruined. This behavior is completely unacceptable. Your dad and his wife are doing her a massive disservice by not setting clear and enforced rules of behavior. They are also treating you horribly.
    via Ok_Expression7723
  • 26
    TarotFox NTA, 13 is far too old to be behaving this way.
    via TarotFox
  • 27
    lemon_charlie NTA. 13 is old enough to learn boundaries. Wonder how she'd feel if you helped yourself to her supply, because siblings share apparently. everything
    via lemon_charlie
  • 28
    residentcaprice You should get stepmom some hand creams for holiday gifts and encourage little sis to get in there. Because "family".
    via residentcaprice
  • 29
    This_Tradition_9221 I'd say tell your dad that until he and his wife start helping you set boundaries with sis, you won't be staying, or even visiting, there.
    via This_Tradition_9221
  • 30
    ThrowaMac1234 NTA. That poor little girl is going to have an awful awakening someday. Hopefully before college. I had a college roommate like her and it was hell. Then it got loud. As in we all put her in her place, loudly and right away. Wasn't pretty and she shed a lot of tears.
    via ThrowaMac1234

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family drama aita kids birthday mother sisters siblings gift reddit story parenting family sister birthday present Reddit women parents children Father
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