Woman Explains Why She Won’t Pay to Replace Her Mother-In-Law’s Phone After Her Toddler Broke It

Mar. 15, 2025

A family looking at a phone (stock image).Photo:Getty

Getty

A woman is facing a holiday dilemma after she and her mother-in-law are butting heads over who should foot the bill for a broken phone.

“Our [little one] decided she was done, and threw the phone from her high chair, cracking the screen badly,” the woman wrote.

“The cost of the repair is a significant amount of money to us, but not to her. Our combined income is less than half her solo income,” she added.

The woman said her partner “suggested” his mother pay for the phone and they would “pay” her “back in installments.” However, she said her mother-in-law “refused because she thinks this is our issue to figure out.”

“I also don’t agree with us paying her back, the phone was broken due to her own negligence,” she said, before asking Reddit if she’s in the wrong.

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A broken phone screen (stock image).Getty

Several people on Reddit sided with the woman, noting that her mother-in-law shouldn’t have given the child the phone.

One person commented that the phone is “a fragile item, not a child’s toy.” The Redditor added, “I don’t hand things to 18-month-olds that I don’t wish to see thrown … that might break or damage it.”

Another said that the woman’s mother-in-law “knowingly caused the situation with her poor choices. She handed the phone to your child. She should have to deal with the natural expectable consequences.”

source: people.com