Respecting someone’s home is a basic form of courtesy.

Imagine inviting a family member over who has small children. If the children damaged your home, would you expect the parents to pay for the repairs?

This woman had just finished repainting her living room after weeks of hard work.

But during a family dinner, her sister-in-law’s kids scribbled all over the freshly painted wall.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

AITA FOR ASKING MY SISTER IN LAW TO HELP PAY FOR CLEANING AFTER HER KIDS DREW ON MY WALLS?

I’m 25F, and my husband is 23M.

We just repainted our living room after weeks of patching and sanding. You could still smell the paint.

We hosted a family dinner last weekend. Nothing fancy, just pasta and garlic bread, and everyone brought something.

This woman was shocked to see that her nephews had scribbled on her newly painted wall.

My sister-in-law, Jess (32F), brought her twins (5M).

So I set up a kids’ table in the den with paper, washable markers, and snacks so they’d have their own area.

I went to grab more drinks, and my stomach dropped.

The living room wall had loops and zigzags all over the fresh paint.

Her sister just laughed and told her, “Boys will be boys.”

One of the twins handed me a marker cap and said, “Oopsie.”

I didn’t even know what to say for a second.

I called Jess in. She kind of laughed and said, “Boys will be boys. They’ll get bored.”

I tried wiping the wall, and the color just smeared into the matte paint.

Jess said they’re little once, and that I could repaint.

That stung. I’d spent nights on that wall.

She asked her sister to cover some of the repainting cost, but she refused.

The next morning, I bought the fancy cleaners the paint store recommended.

The ink lifted in spots, but so did the paint.

We called a painter, and he texted a quote for $200 to sand, prime, and redo the one wall.

So I texted Jess, asking if she could help cover it since I set up the drawing area and the kids wandered anyway.

She said I was punishing creativity and should have put the markers away completely.

Her family is divided on their opinions.

Tom says I’m making too much of it.

He feels for Jess since she’s a single mom and money is tight and he thinks this just starts drama.

My mom said Jess should at least offer something.

Tom’s brother helped me clean that night without making a scene and said he’d talk to her.

She thinks sharing the cost is just fair, but she also feels bad about her sister being a single mom.

His mom told me to chill. “Kids will be kids.”

I keep going back and forth.

We put time and money into the space, and I tried to plan for the twins.

Asking for help with the repaint feels fair to me.

And then, I think about Jess’s budget and feel mean.

Now, she’s wondering what to do in the situation.

What really got me was the laugh and the “It’s just paint” comment.

It made me feel silly for caring about my own house.

AITA for asking my sister-in-law to pay part of the repainting cost?

Did she overreact, or was the mom’s laugh reason enough to expect her to pay for painting the wall?

Let’s read the responses of other people on Reddit to this story.

Here’s a petty revenge idea.

This person shares their honest opinion.

This person shares their personal thoughts.

Here’s a similar remark from this user.

Finally, here’s a valid point.

Being a good parent includes taking responsibility for your children’s actions.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.