Modern parenting comes with its own set of challenges, particularly when it involves pricey gadgets.

After a teenager breaks her smartphone yet again, her request for a new one leaves one parent wondering whether rewarding her carelessness sends the right message.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to buy my daughter another phone and “ruining her life”

I have a daughter, 14F, and she’s pretty clumsy.

We bought her an iPhone 13 Pro a couple of years ago.

She broke hers just months after getting it.

Thankfully, we had AppleCare and managed to get it repaired.

But then came another broken device.

Now, she’s broken her phone again — this time after it accidentally fell out of her hand at a friend’s house while she was playing a video game.

The phone is too badly damaged now.

She is now begging for an iPhone 15.

However, this next one was going to cost a pretty penny.

Unfortunately, it’s no longer covered by insurance, meaning we will have to buy a new phone.

The parents have already spent plenty of money on her lately.

We just spent a lot of money on a gaming PC and an iPad for her 14th birthday, and I don’t really want to spend more money on electronics and smartphones for her, especially since a new iPhone would cost $1,000.

They also wonder whether their daughter can be trusted to care for the device.

She’s also broken it once already, and I feel like I’ll be rewarding this behavior if I buy her another phone, as she still seems to be clumsy.

So the parents agreed to buy her a phone — on one condition.

I made a deal with her that if she keeps her iPad for a year without breaking it, I’ll buy her a new phone next year.

Of course, the teen isn’t happy about this.

She’s now complaining that I’m going too far and that I’m “ruining her life” and that she needs an iPhone.

She does still have a smartphone, but she complains about it being slow and having a bad camera.

She still has a phone — just not one she wants.

She’s currently using her sister’s old Redmi Note 11.

It’s working well, but it isn’t as cool as her iPhone.

But I’m wondering if I should just get her another iPhone and if I’m going too far with the punishment.

AITA?

This teen should learn to better protect what she already has, rather than always pushing for the next best thing.

Let’s hear what Reddit has to say.

She may need a phone, but it definitely doesn’t need to be a brand new phone.

This commenter is rather clumsy too, but feels their phone is way more durable.

Maybe it wasn’t an accident at all…

Maybe a good phone case is really what this teen needs.

Teaching responsibility doesn’t win parents any popularity contests, but it needs to be done.

Some life lessons are worth more than the latest tech.

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