‘Actions are loud’: Parents of tantrum-throwing iPad-kid toddler kick sister and her husband out during a family trip, refusing to reimburse them for nearly $10k

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Nov 16, 2025 6:00 PM EST

Parenting nowadays seems to amount to tablets, television, and a toddler who will throw a fit if they can't access the first two in this list.

On the one hand, raising a child can be a challenging task. You must teach them how to exist in the world as a human, because even the most obvious things that are innate to you must be translated using a lot of facial expressions, treats as rewards, and smiles (even when you don't want to give them one).

Something that has become increasingly popular in the parenting sphere is the use of screens to remedy their child's tantrums or to simply keep their constant need for interaction at bay. Parents have very binary opinions on the matter of children's usage of tech, and here lies the issue in the story you're about to read.

If you give a child a screen when they're misbehaving, you are rewarding them for not-great behavior. The grandma on the family trip in this story explains this to her child and their spouse because their toddler screams and cries whenever she is without a screen in front of her. Another couple on the trip agrees and is effectively excluded from the plans for the rest of the journey. Now, they're out nearly 10k with no expectation of reimbursement. Scroll to read.

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    father and toddler daughter who is pictured crying
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    "AIO being mad at family leaving us behind on family vacation 10,000 miles from home?"

    3 week long vacation abroad with in-law sibling family for 3 weeks including a niece toddler.
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    >important note: my In-law family did the booking of the trip. They had the reservations, tickets, and car rentals in their name.
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    The parents of toddler are very much of the mindset that "we can still travel, we aren't going to put our lives on pause just because we have a kid".
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    I assumed that all would be fine as she travelled well as a baby. We were wrong.
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    The first week was rough. 5am wake up calls, playgrounds, tantrums, and just feeling on edge around the high stress of the parents.
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    Moreover the first week was solely about visiting their friend who had toddlers too. I and SO were kind of exhausted and needed our own space outside of a house full of toddlers.
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    So, as adults with our own money we decided to book our own Airbnb for 2 small nights to catch our breath.
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    I think that may have offended them as "oh they hate the kids" But the stress got worse.
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    Especially with the toddler iPad. Every dinner front and center there it was. it was the source of most tantrums.
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    NEEDING it. And she only just turned 3yo. Being in the backseat having to deal with someone else's toddler kicking because the iPad ran out of battery was so much.
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    toddler girl with digital tablet at home watching kid shows
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

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    Looking back, on the flight she would immediately start crying when the pilot made an announcement and paused her seat screen.
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    It was funny at the time. It was a warning sign. One dinner, it led to a tiff between the parents to buy a cocomelon show on the iPad the kid was throwing a fit over needing while we ate.
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    The grandma finally said "I don't think you should be buying that. Especially since it's rewarding bad behavior" All hell broke loose when the mom didn't like that comment.
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    But it didn't end there. Then my SO chummed in and said "don't talk to our mom like that.
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    And she is right". At that point the trip ended. "Fuck off, you don't have to be here if you hate it, you know what, leave.
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    Get your own car and go". So we starting looking to book a flight to leave 1/2 way into the trip because we had no control over anything and we're effectively cut out after that explosion.
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    When I, as the bystander husband, asked to be dropped off in the city, i was told "please get an Uber instead" and the next morning they were off to the next place of stay hours away.
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    There are no fucking Ubers in a small coastal town 2 hours from the city. So we are figuring out bus transit to get us to the airport.
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    Thank god the bus transit came through our small town. We've essentially blown $10k. Our flights back had to be booked as additional flights.
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    The in-laws controlled the tickets so we couldn't call and reschedule or get flight credit for the original ourselves.
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    I'm not mad about the money. Okay maybe a little. We could stay and "apologize for ruining the trip" (even though the explosion was due to something the grandma said) to makeup and go on.
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    But as the bystander to this family drama, the feeling of being 10,000 miles from home with the main source of transportation, places of stay at someone else's fingertips is something I will never allow to happen again.
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    Actions are loud. Idk what I'm posting for. Idk what "advice" | need. Maybe I just need to hear someone say "yea that's fucked.
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    Regardless of money, I wouldn't stay either"
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family dynamics family drama entitled parents entitlement family trip reddit story family feud parenting entitled family reddit thread parent Reddit Parenting Fail parents entitled people Parenting FAILS
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