Mom teaches important lesson to daughter who ruined stepsister's $3000 quinceañera dress

When Bethany, a teenager, ruined her stepsister's expensive quinceañera dress, her mom (u/otherwise-cycle-2441) insisted she get a job and pay every cent to replace it. The mom shared the incident on Reddit in October 2023 and asked the audience if she was being too harsh on her daughter. She also questioned whether it was fair to stand by her stepdaughter, Maria, and choose her over Bethany.

Bethany, 16, had known Maria since she was barely a child, and they shared a wonderful relationship until it was time for the latter's quinceañera. "Maria's quinceañera is coming up, and my husband and his ex-wife took her to get her dress. The dress and all the accessories came to around $3k," the mom recalled. All this while, Bethany was upset and was jealous of the whole party. "I’ve informed her that it is part of the culture, just like when she had a huge sweet sixteen party with her friends," her mom said. The woman even purchased a dress for Bethany so she could also dress up for the quinceañera party, but nothing could help what she had been feeling. Two weeks before the party, Bethany had an argument with Maria over the TV, so she ruined her expensive dress. "I gave money to my husband and his ex to try to get a new dress ASAP. I informed my daughter that she will need to get a job and pay back the full price of the dress as punishment," the mom said. Later, Bethany and her mom got into a huge fight as the teen probably thought it wasn't fair for her to choose Maria over her own daughter.

Reacting to the post, u/fwoggie2 commented, "Speaking as a parent, albeit without stepchildren, a firm NTA. Bethany is old enough to understand that actions have consequences, and she's just learned a major one the hard way. Kudos to you for stepping in to resolve the situation in a fair way for both Maria and her parents, and in addition for allocating more time to Bethany before this happened, and insisting she needs to get a job to pay reparations. At her age, Bethany is going to understand that it takes a long time to earn $3k, but the experience will do her good for finding a job after school or college, plus it will teach her the value of money, and depending on the job, may even mature her too."

u/upset-interest2397 wrote, "NTA, you’re a great parent and handled that perfectly. You’re teaching her responsibility and accountability and making sure your stepdaughter feels safe and equally loved by you." Emphasizing it, Priya Tahim, a licensed professional counselor and founder of Kaur Counseling, told HuffPost, "Accountability is a way to take responsibility for actions you’re in charge of. By teaching kids personal accountability, you’re teaching them that mistakes happen, and when those mistakes happen, it’s important to learn to fix or grow from them."

Similarly, u/mildbabyfacedassassin said, "NTA. Way to go for teaching your daughter that her actions have consequences. I hope you hold her accountable until every last cent is paid back. This is not about you choosing your step-daughter over your daughter. You're showing her that what she did is not okay and is not fair to Maria. Bethany is being a spoiled and entitled brat. Sorry, not sorry. She knew what she was doing and was just looking for an excuse to ruin Maria's party. You even went out of your way to get Bethany a dress for Maria's party that she doesn't even deserve. I would go as far as taking that dress back as well."

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