Woman tells friend her 4 year old 'needs medical help' after he steals a wedding ring and tosses it when he gets caught. AITA?

I told my friend her 4 year old kid isn't normal after he stole my wife's wedding ring and tossed it outside when he got caught.

Admirable-Cold-8875 writes:

A few of my friends (26F) came over to our house for a get-together lunch. Some of them have kids and brought them along. One of my friends, Nora (28F), has a 4-year-old son named Jack, who is notorious for being a monster.

Jack doesn't get along with other kids and is a constant source of crying and screaming. Nora brought Jack over. He said he wanted to take a nap, so I showed Nora the guest room and told her to make herself comfortable. Nora came back downstairs after a while, and we hung out.

Now, around 40 minutes later, Jack came back down, smiling like crazy. He had my wife's (Kate - 29F) wedding ring. Kate is a doctor and doesn't take her ring to work. She leaves it on our nightstand. Jack had clearly gone into our bedroom.

I told Nora I'd like him to give the ring back. Nora said he'd just get bored with it now and that I needed to relax. A few minutes later, I asked Jack to please give the ring back. This triggered something because he ran to the window and threw the ring out into our spacious backyard.

I got really, really mad. Kate adores her ring, and I had it custom-made with many little touches. It was extra special because it resembled a ring in her nana's family that she couldn't have because she chose to marry a woman.

So after all that, I told Nora her godd##n son had no manners and she needed to do something about him, maybe take him to a doctor because this is not healthy kid behavior. She got very upset and left. Other guests started leaving too.

Kate and I spent the entire evening looking for it, but we couldn't find it. I am a crying mess, Kate keeps saying it's nothing, but I know how much she loves that ring. Despite all this, every mom in our friend group is calling me an AH for taking it too hard on Jack and Nora. Was I an AH?

Here are the top comments from the post:

YouthNAsia63 says:

Your “friend group” can get on their hands and knees and comb every inch of your yard, too, or they can never be invited back to your home. And if you never find the ring, you can ask for a new ring to be made, to the exact specifications, and Jack’s mama can pay for it.

NTA (Not the A%@^ole) Jack’s mama was responsible for her child. She can pay to replace what he threw out the window, (while she did nothing), even if you have to get a court judgment to make her.

Craft_Meeting2657 says:

Absolutely NTA! Jack doesn't need a doctor. He needs discipline! And the friend group contains a bunch of choice idiots.

Mentalcomposer says:

NTA. The truth hurts. And all those other friends saying you were too hard? They all think the same thing about precious little jack. They just don’t have the nerve to say it. Notice their kids don’t act like that.

What kind of parent doesn’t immediately take the ring from the kid? This isn’t a stuffed toy, it’s somebody’s wedding ring! He’d get bored with it? Seriously? Thats the best she could come up with? I would have pried that little hand open and taken it.

Your friend is the AH. But that’s ok, cause in a few years Jack wont have any friends and she’ll spend a lot of time making excuses for him when she’s continually called into school.

starbiebarbie99 says:

NTA - The child behaves that way because his mother lets him, not because there is something wrong with him so it was kind of mean to say them when your real issue is that your friend is a s^&t parent.

I would not invite that friend back over since her manners were just as atrocious as her child's. You can get a metal detector for under 50 bucks so just buy that and walk around the backyard until you find the ring (and make sure your jewelry insurance is up to date).

amandarae1023 says:

NTA. She might not like to hear the truth, but that doesn’t change the fact that’s it’s correct. Her not immediately intervening with something like a wedding ring is a failure on her part, though. It’s likely why he is the way he is. She should be on her hands and knees in that yard and house until the ring is found.

What do you think? Was OP wrong to criticize her friend's parenting?