Some people are so desperate for laughs and attention that they’ll do anything, even if it crosses a line.

So, what would you do if a family member “joked around” in a way that made you deeply uncomfortable? Would you mind your own business? Or would you speak up, even if it started drama in your family?

In the following story, one woman is trying to make this exact decision and needs some advice. Here’s the full story.

WIBTAH if I tell my mom about my BIL “joking around”

This week I (24f) visited my sister Sarah (27f) and her family, her husband Tom (34m) and their two kids Noah (4m) and Ben (not quite 1,m). Fake names. They live a couple of hours away, and usually it’s my sister visiting me with the kids, so I don’t know her husband too well.

So we were all sitting on the couch and talking about their new little dog.

Then my BIL, with the baby on his lap, says to me, “The dog will be a great guard dog, watch this,” then he just flicked Ben’s face. Ben immediately started crying and the dog started freaking out, barking and jumping up at Tom. Tom held the baby up high and laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

The sister tried to diffuse the situation.

I was completely dumbfounded and didn’t react at all. My sister told him to knock it off, it wasn’t funny, but my BIL just nudged little Noah who was sitting next to him, saying, YOU think it’s funny, right? Noah gave a little laugh and looked away again.

My sister tried to grab the baby away from him, but he just held him out of reach and flicked his face AGAIN, causing both the baby and the dog to cry even louder. My sister then said, “Oh, look, it’s time to feed the dog. Why don’t you take him to the kitchen, Noah?”

Noah grabbed the dog and ran off. I didn’t see either of them again for the rest of the visit. My sister finally managed to take the baby into her arms.

Later, she confronted her sister about the incident.

I was completely perplexed.

I didn’t want to say anything in front of Tom, so I waited until the end of the visit when I went to help my sister clean up the kitchen. I asked her what that was about, and she said Tom just had a weird sense of humor. I asked her if he had done something like this before.

She kinda ignored me, so I asked her straight up if he had ever hurt her or the kids. She got extremely offended and said I was blowing a joke completely out of proportion and that Ben hadn’t been hurt at all, just startled. I dropped the subject, but felt really uncomfortable.

Now, she’s not sure if to let it go or not.

Back at home, I talked with my boyfriend about it. He thought it was serious, too, mostly because of the dog. He says the dog could’ve accidentally hurt the baby. He couldn’t give me advice on what to do, though, and I just don’t know.

Should I talk to my sister again? Our mom, maybe? This is not a normal joke, right?

Like, don’t make your baby cry on purpose is like parenting 101. I have the urge to tell someone so this gets looked into to see if everything is alright.

AITA?

Wow! That BIL sounds like he’s something else.

Let’s see what advice the people over at Reddit have to offer her.

This person suggests she talk to her mother and father.

Here’s some great advice.

As this person points out, the sister may not know what to do.

Very true.

She needs to tell someone else.

Whether it’s her mother, father, or both, there needs to be someone who can also be a witness and assess this situation.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.