Kids need to learn lessons sometimes; it’s how they grow into adults that people genuinely want to be around.

There is some debate, of course, on whose job it is to teach kids those lessons – and even more disagreements on how they should be imparted.

OP hosted a family party and afterward, his daughter mentioned that she couldn’t find her Nintendo Switch. After reaching out to everyone who was there, he learned that his 6yo nephew (allegedly) thought his daughter gave it to him as an early birthday gift.

I had a cookout at my place on the 4th. My daughter’s (13) switch goes missing. I contacted family members and my wife’s sister (Kara) said my daughter gave it as a gift to her son Stevie (6) for his upcoming birthday.

OP’s daughter said that was not true, that they had just been playing it together.

I ask my daughter and she said it wasn’t true she let Stevie use it so they could all play Mario Cart together and it went missing after the cookout.

When he asked his sister-in-law for it back, though, she started saying that his daughter was too old for it anyway and refused to hand it over.

My daughter is upset and I call Kara back who insists that the switch is now Stevies and my daughter is too old to play anyways or will outgrow it soon and it was a gift to Stevie. She calls my daughter an “Indian Giver”

So, OP called a cop who was a family member and asked him to kind of push the issue without anything legal actually taking place – and when they confronted the SIL, she did something that she’s lucky didn’t actually get her arrested.

After this I contacted my uncle who is a police officer and he watches Kara’s house and a few of his friends go over and threaten to arrest Steve and Kara over stolen property.

Kara reluctantly gives it back after an incident with the officer that she could have been arrested for.

The warned Stevie next time steals both him and his mom will go to jail. They let my SIL go without incident.

She’s claiming that her son can’t sleep now and was traumatized by the whole event.

SIL says Stevie has been crying non stop and having issues sleeping because he doesn’t want to go to jail and blaming me and my family for traumatizing her son.

My response might have been heartless because it was “I guess he’ll never steal again”

Kara thinks he’ll be traumatized for life for making a big deal over a stupid game.

Did OP go too far? Let’s hear what Reddit thinks!

The top commenter doesn’t think OP did anything wrong.

This person takes issue with the idea that a 6yo will be totally ok after this, though.

This person agrees the blame is on the SIL for any traumatizing, not OP.

Lots of people with kids agreed that there’s no way the kid came to that conclusion on his own.

Most people feel like this is the bottom line here.

The SIL definitely deserves whatever she got.

I do feel badly for the kiddo, though.