My friends child broke my childs toy: Advice?

Can I get some advice? What do you do when you invite your friend and their three and a half-year-old son over, and their child breaks your child’s toys? Especially new toys they got for Christmas? I feel bad asking her to pay me back for them, but we work hard to get our kids the toys they have. What should I do?

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Put the expensive toys away when she comes round.

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I’d mention it and neglect to invite again, because she SHOULD HAVE OFFERED right away!

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Get over it. It was an accident. You invited them over.

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Me personally, I wouldnt. If I invite them over, shit happens. Now older, I’d say totally. But they are 3… kids will be kids. And I dont think they did it in on purpose.

Kind of part of the risks of a play date. I would offer to replace it. But if it was my kids toy that got broken I wouldn’t expect it to be replaced or cause a fuss over it. They are 3…

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Personally it seems weird to ask her to pay for them unless it was broken intentionally. They are toddlers after all. Put them good toys away or go to her house instead.

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I don’t ask for ppl to pay for broken toys. Kids are kids. This happens. Everyone works hard for their kids. That’s nothing new.

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They are kids toys break…put them away before she comes over next time

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She should replace it, either give the cash or buy the actual toy. Yes, it feels wrong to ask but if it were two adults, then it would be normal. Since her child isn’t old enough to understand and take responsibility, it’s her obligation to do so.

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If my child broke another child’s toy especially if that person were someone I called my friend I would have already replaced it.

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This depends if it was intentional.

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She should have paid you right then without you asking or replaced it with the same toy.

That’s what kids do. Maybe i need to bill my daughter for the countless Christmas toys she has broken over the years.

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That’s sort of the risk you take having kids playing at your house :woman_shrugging:t3:

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She should have offered but honestly that’s sort of the risk of having kids come over and play with the toys you make available. After all they’re kids and mistakes happen. Everyone works hard as another mom mentioned. Just my opinion.

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Toys don’t last friendships do. If your worried about that kind of stuff I wouldn’t have play dates.

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Yeah put the toys away. They are kids it should be expected to happen

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If it was an accident or poorly made toy nothing. If it was on purpose then you should say something.

I hate when this happens I’ve started putting certain toys up :woman_shrugging:

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Yes put there new toys away

Tbh just let it go and don’t have that kid over again.
Simple
And if you didn’t witness it then even more so let it go.

Put away expensive ones. And in my opinion non expensive toys or old toys or the non put away ones oh well it’s just a toy. But that’s just me. My son brakes new and old toys all the time. So I just see it as what kids do and I just expect it from kids.

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I would never ask someone to pay for something their child broke on accident. I would assure them that it is okay, it was an accident. It happens.

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Just wait… Your child WILL be the breaker at some point…

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I could never ask for payment from a friend due to an accident, but that’s just me. It’s a hard lesson to have learned, but maybe in the future put some toys up and away during play dates. :woman_shrugging:t4:

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Dont invite them back

Toys get broken with children! They don’t know any better! Just keep the toys you don’t want the chances of being broken out away until the guests leave. Accidents happen!

Put all the toys away when he comes over. Only put out a few toys

Meh. They’re kids. Put the toys away you want kept nice. No reason to never have them over again or to ask for money. Chances are your kid will break someone’s something at some point in their life

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Do you value the toy more than your friendship?

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Leave it alone at 31/2 they don’t know better

This is ridiculous. Everybody is our for a buck. Other children breaking or damaging your child’s toys is an inherent risk you take by using your home as the common grounds.

A decent parent would offer a replacement if they have the means to do so, but by no means should it be expected.

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Is this child breaking them on purpose? If so don’t invite them over

kids will b kids.
Put the toys away if you dnt want them broken or have a play date at a park.
or have only a few toys out when they come over & have his room door closed,that’s what we do

Hide any toys that are new or special prior to kids visiting

Toys break and my kids break their own toys all the time on accident… Unless it was on purpose grow up and let it go.
I would never expect a friend to go replace if it were an accident.

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Like a 3 year old child knows better

Toys break with kids . It happens. If you don’t want them to play don’t have them come over or let them play with your kids toys. But then don’t expect your friend to let your kid play with there toys cause your being petty

Wait for her to invite you over for a playdate and break one of her son’s favorite toy :rofl: jk jk all in good humor here…I’d put my child’s expensive toys away next time and no I wouldn’t expect her to pay for it since you invited them over in the first place

Let it go they r kids wat did u expect.? If u don’t want certain toys to be broke than put them up when other kids r invited over or go to ur friends house instead. It’s just a toy :roll_eyes:

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You should probably not have play dates at your house. Accidents happen, theyre kids.

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Hide the good toys next time!

reconsider inviting them back over ever again

The child is 3, that tends to happen.

Depends if it was by accident or done on purpose. If accident let it go and keep any of your kids stuff you don’t want touched put away, if on purpose sit down and tell her that you will need her to replace it etc
My ex friends 4 year old boy got my daughters ds and jumped on it until both screens smashed and it was unfixable on purpose just because he could, I told my friend she would be replacing it and she did

Let it go this time. Put the expensive ones away next time.

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If it happened every single time they came over, I’d understand. But a 3.5 year old won’t understand playing gently.

You just shut up and say nothing its a toy it can be replace but if you say some thing can you afford to lose a good friend

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Let it go. Its a toy , they get broke.

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Shit happens. I wouldn’t dare ask for someone to pay for a 3 year olds mistake… next time put away the expensive and special toys. Lesson learned.

Only put out what you dont mind being played with or possibly broken, keep special toys put up out of reach from any child till guests are gone . Put out sturdy toys for play dates .

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Comes with the territory :woman_shrugging:

At that age you can’t expect the parents to replace it. It’s just what happens

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It happens dont invite them or anyone over if you are worried about it. Put up their favorite toys no one can play with when there is compa6

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I think we need to know more.
Do you think it was intentional? Was the child being watched when it broke etc?
Odd are at 3 years old it was an accident - child not really knowing how it would break or even that it would

Yes it sucks it broke but accidents happen, personally I wouldn’t have it in me to ask for it to be paid for. For me it would feel like punishing the mum just because her child accident broke something. For all we know the mother in question may not be able to afford it, she shouldn’t feel penalised for her child being a child - I’m saying this with the assumption it was an accidental breakage.

If it was intentional I’d express my concerns about the behaviour and mention about the cost

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The rule is at my house that when having guest over. Toys that the kids and I don’t want other kids to play with go in my room (where the door is locked). If the kids leave a toy out in the lounge room or in the yard and it gets broken then I don’t replace it.

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Depends how it got broken, if it was just playing too rough, it happens, but if the kid purposely smashed it then let the parents know, and see if they could go halves, if my boy broke someone’s toy, I’d offer to buy a new one, but that’s just me.

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depends on the situation of how they broke it.

personally I teach my children to treat their toys with respect and so if somebody else’s kid came over and broke my son’s toy which I financially cannot replace I would absolutely be asking them to replace it

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Either put the toys up or donts your kids or there kids play with them while they are over your house

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Get over it,it wont be the last time

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Accidental things happen and with toddlers playing there is a great chance of something (toys) breaking… Have a play date ups the chances of broken toys or toys being misplaced. No one is made of money and yes toys can be expensive so my suggestion to you is put the expensive toys away during play dates not saying cheaper toys should be broken bit just saying only put out toys that are non breakable or non valuable …

I wouldn’t ask a friend to pay for a toy their child broke unless it was a tablet or cellphone or something major like that. It’s silly and in my opinion a little petty. My daughter breaks her own toys (numerous since Christmas)… it happens.

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I have a 6 year old daughter…my best friends 2 boys are 4 and 6 and they come over all the time and I swear they break something almost every time! It annoys me sometimes but they are kids and shit happens I’m not gonna make my best friend replace the toy. Idk that’s just me though

I have two boys ages 4 and 6 - we next door to two boys of almost the same ages. They trade toys all the time, even for keeps. They nor us are worried if a toy gets broken - it’s bound to happen. They’re kids. Toys aren’t supposed to last forever, friendships and memories do. If you’re more worried of the toys at such a young age, do play dates outside of your home or put away the toys you don’t want seen broken. Unless the toy is absolutely not replaceable, I wouldn’t worry about it. But. That’s just me.

Kids break stuff. If you wanna keep it nice, pack it up til their grown.

I have learned to put away really important stuff to avoid them breaking it

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Well…what would you do if a guest in your home accidentally broke a nice dish. As a host, you know accidents happen. If I broke a dish (fine china) I would immediately offer to replace it. Most people wont offer these days. So tactfully explain to the other parent what happened. Hopefully they will offer to replace, if not. There is not much you can do. When kids come over to play, put expensive toys away.

Wow! Honestly he’s 3 mistakes happen if you didn’t want the toys broken why have them out to begin with​:woman_facepalming:t2: just my opinion it’s a good learning lesson for all involved. We all work hard to provide and I wouldn’t bring my child to anyone’s house if that was their mentality. Honestly toys don’t last friendships do so consider having a little forgiveness and grace in your heart :heart:

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I think my grandma’s advice goes well in this scenario. My daughter was about 4 when she broke one of my grandmas ceramic angels. I offered to pay for it ($450) but she turned me down. She told me that she knew a toddler was coming over and should have made sure expensive and fragile items had been put up before the child got there. She failed to make the environment baby/toddler friendly and even though it sucks that it got broke, its just a material object. It sucks when things like this happen and I have had my share of my own kids breaking others toys or their toys being broken, have even had to replace other kids items a time or two. From the sound of it you are wanting them to pay you back for this broken toy, you just need to talk calmly to them about it. But beware, most parents (in my opinion) will not replace a broken toy, even if their kid broke it right in front of them on purpose. Good luck.

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You should always expect it. If you dont want a toy to be broken, put it up. :woman_shrugging:t2:

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Let it go!! Things happen

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Take this as a lesson learned. You had the chance to put away anything “special”, “expensive” or “off limits”. Heck you invited them over. So I do think this is a learning experience for what to expect next time.

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I put my grandbabies expensive toys up when other kids are here. I had bought my grandson an electric bmw and every time the other kids came they tried to destroy it. There are a lot of other toys they can play with besides stuff I can’t afford to replace.

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I say take the loss and next time put toys away that you dont want broken. On another note, toys are easily replaced. If you saw a smile on the child face prior to the toys getting broken then its worth it in my opinion. Kids will be kids, Toys get broken… 🤷 Its your fault not the childs or the other parents. I surely hope you dont give the parents of the child a hard time for breaking a toy…

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This is just the beginning of broken toys. Call it a loss and move on

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If u didnt want it broken at the hands of anyone else other than yr child then put it away till the right time allows. Otherwise, kids are kids…toys break…it happens.

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Firstly, you shouldnt be asking fb this question especially not this crowd🤣 But if you feel like its serious enough to ask her to replace it THEN ASK HER TO REPLACE IT. They’re kids, accidents happen but you spent your earned money buying it i guess so why not want to be compensated🤷

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I’ve had this happen many times. I throw it away. :woman_shrugging:

We don’t have toys out that we don’t mind going’s missing or being broke

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You should have put it away if you didn’t want things accidently broken.

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Dam right i would ask for $$ to get another one or they replace the broken one

It happens. Get over it and move on. Know for next time, put up the toys that mean something to you. Lesson learned!

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Put toys away and babys break toys all the time did the friend scold the child?

Toys break all the time. If you paid an outrageous amount for some of them put them away before play dates. Especially around 3 year olds. Asking the other parent to pay for it is kind of petty. This should go down as lesson learned for future play dates.

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My brother in laws dog broke my sons brand new favorite toy and I was livid. Luckily he offered to replace it first. But as a guest in a home they should be making sure their toddler is being respectful. It’s a toy for gods sake of course it’s going to be out for kids to play with. But toys don’t just break easily…

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Kids are kids next time no toys

You don’t want toys broken put them away before a play date, their children like holy hell … I’d personally offer but at the same time maybe she doesn’t have money to replace it either your friends move on …

My friends little boy did that but I would never ever dream of asking her to replace it nor would she if my kids did that things happen accidents happening of rough and tough I just replaced the toy myself kids are kids and toys are flimsy

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It depends on the situation

It’s a toy. You invited them over. If your friend dropped and broke a glass would you make them buy you a new one?

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Deal with it. Lesson learned. Future playdates only allow toys out that are fair game and can afford to be broken.

Yiur child is going ro have a lit of broken things in kufe. This is just stuff. Tgats it. STUFF. You want to ruin feiendship over material crap??

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Considering u said u invited them over so u knew they were coming u had time to put away anything valuable or that u didn’t want to be broken. There is always a chance something could get broken no matter the age. If u are that much more worried about material things than ur friendships in life I suggest u don’t have people over to ur house. I would personally be very offended if my son broke something and was asked to replace it if they were neglectful enough to either let them play with it or leave it lying around. If any of my kids broke something of value purposely I would offer to replace it however I would do so at the same time as being a little annoyed that they had the opportunity to break it in the first place. Ask yourself what’s more important, things or people?

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Depends on the toy and how expensive it was.

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My oldest collects toys at this point. He has a helmet from Fallout thst he got for his birthday I spent over $100 on. Its strictly a collectible and not a toy. He also has tons of the original star wars action figures mint in boxes that are strictly collectible. Those items get put away before kids come over because I know how kids are. Shit gets played with and broken. Especially boys.

you get over it and realize shit happens

You don’t do anything. A toddler broke a toy. Replace it. It’s not a big deal.

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I think you deal with it this time. Moving forward I suggest only putting out toys that aren’t new or easily breakable for play dates

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Toys are meant to be played with and they’re going to get broken. If you ask her to replace it best case senario she does but it could also make her not wamt to bring her child around to play anymore. When i watch my sisters kids i put up any toys that i dont want broken, and if i see them being particularly rough with other toys I give them a warning then take it away the second time.

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I wouldn’t feel bad. Honestly you shouldn’t even have to ask