People Want Authentic Responses To Their "Am I The Jerk?" Stories

"My sister hosted Easter at her house this year, and my 13-year-old son and I (M) attended. She lives beside a lake and has a nice sitting area on the dock.

Everything was going great until it was time to eat.

My sister had set up a kid’s table so they didn’t leave trash around, and any messes would be easier to clean. My son didn’t want to sit with them, which was understandable as the oldest kid beside him was 8.

There was no table for the adults, so everyone sat wherever.

I sat at the dock with my son and a few others. My sister joined us and almost immediately told him he needed to sit with the kids. I told her it was fine; he was older than them and would be miserable.

Then, my mom chimed in and backed her up, telling me it was adult time. I decided not to argue, and we found a different place to sit. My sister walked by after we finished eating and got frustrated; she just said, 'Really,' then stormed off. She was angry the rest of the day; I even heard her complain to her husband that my son was a brat.

Later that night, I got a long text from my mom saying I had disrespected my sister, was a bad guest, and needed to apologize.

I would get it if he were younger or if there were other kids his age, but there weren’t. All of the kids were super loud, and I could tell he was already getting annoyed with them as they kept shooting him with Nerf guns. Would it have been easier if I made him sit at the kid’s table for a few minutes, though? This whole thing could’ve been avoided, but my son would’ve been miserable. AITJ?"

Another User Comments:

"NTJ. Like your son is still a child but not a kiddie table child.

13 is the age where they start becoming tiny adults. This is a great time to give them autonomy and let them choose what they want to eat, where they want to sit, and just inform them of certain consequences if they make a mess. 'You’ll have to clean this up if anything spills'. It’s not that hard. Your sister and mother sound controlling and resentful." TheBearyPotter

Another User Comments:

"NTJ. If your son wasn't causing any problems by hanging with the adults, I genuinely don't understand your sister's upset. It sounds like a control thing; she made this arbitrary rule and she is angry you didn't help her enforce it.

My oldest is 13 and hates noise. If I take him to parties, he generally hangs with me and talks to the adults for an hour or so, then withdraws to a quiet corner with a book. My friends & relatives always enjoy talking to him as this is an age where teens often ignore adults.

Your mother & sister are being irrational. They manufactured a problem and now they expect you to apologise? Pfft. No thanks." Ok-Map-6599