Hey Pandas, AITA For Telling My Sister Her Parenting Is Dangerous After Her Toddler Tried To Give My Cats Energy Drinks?

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I (34F) don’t have kids – just two cats, Miso and Bean, who are basically my babies. My younger sister (29F) has a 4-year-old son, Tyler. I love my nephew, but… let’s just say my sister’s parenting style is what she calls “free-spirited” and what I’d call “mildly chaotic.”

She’s very big on “letting kids explore the world naturally.” Which, okay, fine – but her idea of that is letting Tyler play with things that absolutely shouldn’t be toys.

He’s “experimented” with kitchen knives, “painted” the TV with yogurt, and once “decorated” the dog with peanut butter and glitter

Toddler standing on chair looking over balcony rail in pajamas, related to dangerous parenting and cats energy drinks concerns.

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My sister just laughs and says, “He’s learning through experience!”

Anyway, she and Tyler came to stay with me for a week because her apartment was being fumigated. I figured it’d be nice bonding time – but by day two, I was losing my mind.

She let him run around my apartment unsupervised with a screwdriver because he “wanted to fix the Wi-Fi.” He nearly poked out the screen of my monitor. I tried to gently tell her that maybe tools aren’t great toys for a preschooler, and she rolled her eyes: “You don’t get it – you don’t have kids.”

Then came the incident.

I was working from home when I heard one of my cats yowl.

I ran into the kitchen and found Tyler trying to pour Monster Energy into Bean’s water bowl

Gray tabby cat licking its lips near a bowl, illustrating concerns about toddler interactions and dangerous parenting with cats.

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When I shouted, he cried and said, “Mommy says energy drinks make you strong and fast! I wanted Bean to be fast like Sonic!”

My sister came in and immediately told me to “calm down.” I pointed out that energy drinks can seriously harm a cat, and she just shrugged and said, “He didn’t know any better, stop making it a big deal.”

I told her this wasn’t cute – it was dangerous, and maybe she needed to start actually setting some rules for him. That’s when she completely flipped out.

She yelled that I’m “judgmental,” “childless,” and “don’t know what it’s like to raise a kid 24/7”

Silhouettes of two women arguing intensely indoors, illustrating a conflict about dangerous parenting and toddler behavior.

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She packed up and left that night to stay at a friend’s place, and my mom has since called to tell me I “humiliated” my sister and made her feel like a bad mother.

For the record, I didn’t yell – I just told her that giving a kid that little supervision is risky. But now the family’s divided. Half think I was right to step in, the other half says I overstepped because I “don’t have kids.”

I feel awful because I didn’t want to make her feel like a bad mom – I just didn’t want her kid or my cats to get hurt.

So, Pandas… AITA for telling my sister her parenting is dangerous after her kid tried to give my cats an energy drink?

Moderator’s note

Please note that the images included in this article are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the actual individuals or items discussed in the story.

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