One of the things I did not expect to have to do as a parent is pretend to be amazed by very, very small “accomplishments” on a daily basis.

That said, it’s our job as the adults in our kids’ lives to build them up, make them feel heard and seen, and be a safe place in their world.

OP’s niece is super into art, and she was excited to give him her Christmas present.

My 12-year old niece is really into arts and crafts, and recently got into crocheting. Before Christmas, she told me that she had a surprise gift for me, and seemed really excited about it.

I told her I was really looking forward to it as well, and prepared her gift myself (which was actually art supplies).

When she did, OP burst into laughter that he couldn’t manage to stifle for several minutes.

On Christmas when we had our family gathering, she brought me her gift, and was super excited for me to open it.

When I opened it, I saw a crocheted animal, but if I’m being honest, it looked REALLY REALLY bad. To give you an idea of what it looked like, imagine something from r/badtaxidermy but in crochet form.

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and I couldn’t stop laughing no matter how hard I tried to suppress it, so I had to excuse myself to go to the washroom, where I locked myself for nearly 10 minutes.

Now his niece thinks she’s horrible at art.

When I came out, my niece was in tears with her parents trying to console her, and I apologized profusely and told her that I really liked her gift, but she kept crying and shouted at me, calling me a liar and that she sucked at art.

My niece avoided me for the vast majority of the party after that.

He claims the other adults are understanding.

I tried to make her feel better by displaying her gift on my living room cabinet, but my wife pulled me aside later in the day and told me to take it down after the party because it was in her words, “really ugly” and made her uncomfortable.

Surprisingly, all the adults was very understanding of my situation, but I feel really bad because I feel like I destroyed my niece’s confidence, and I’m not sure how I can make it up to her.

I wonder if Reddit will follow suit.

The top comment just feels horrible for the little girl.

This person says this moment will definitely stick with the niece.

People who love you are supposed to be supportive.

They confirm that most people would never.

Who thinks it’s ok to bully a child?

This one made me see red.

Like, how dare he???

Enjoy that Tok? Check out this video from a former Chipotle employee who reveals how the company cheats customers out of food.