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It can be really hard to know when to let a child get excited and when to prepare them for disappointment.

One woman is dealing with that after talking to her eight-year-old niece about an upcoming NFL game.

Her niece is convinced she’ll get her favorite player’s autograph and has been talking about it nonstop.

However, her aunt explained that they could try, but there was a strong chance it wouldn’t happen.

Unfortunately, the little girl got upset, and now her mom says the warning ruined her excitement and gave her something to worry about instead.

Read on to see what you think about this whole situation.

AITA for warning my niece she’s probably not getting an autograph?

I (20s, F) will be attending an NFL game with my niece, “Lucy” (8F), in a few weeks.

Lucy is quite smitten with one of the players and is convinced she’s going to get his autograph. She’s been talking about it NONSTOP.

I warned Lucy that she’s probably not getting an autograph. I told her that we can try, but there’s a very strong chance she might not get one.

Then, she got the call from Lucy’s mom.

Apparently, the possibility of not getting one hadn’t occurred to her because she got super upset about it.

Now Lucy’s mom is mad at me.

She says I’ve “ruined the excitement” of attending the game for Lucy because she was mostly excited about the autograph, and now she’s going to “be worrying about not getting one the whole time.”

AITA?

Oh no! It’s so easy to see why she said something, but that poor girl.

Let’s check out how the readers over Reddit would’ve handled the situation.

These are such good thoughts from someone who would know.

According to this comment, she actually helped the girl by doing this.

This is a good suggestion.

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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who can’t complete her work-from-home duties because her mom’s houseguest won’t stop talking.

Here’s how this person would reframe it.

Imagine if everyone at a game expected to meet their favorite player.

As exciting as that would be, there’s no way every fan could get a turn, so her aunt was right not to promise an autograph.

Still, it’s easy to see why her mom feels bad about the warning taking some of the excitement away.

But being disappointed now may be easier than spending the whole game expecting something that might not happen.

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Author

Heather Hall

Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

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