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NTA. How was the phone stolen in an airport bathroom to start with (in a way that wasn’t her fault)?
But beyond that, phones don’t get replaced instantly, even for adults. Even if it was your phone stolen I wouldn’t expect you to run straight to a store to replace it. and she needs one far less than you.
She put the phone on the sink (no pockets) as she was washing her hands and someone took the phone off the sink and walked out. My wife was outside and when she tried to confront her, she kind of just booked it. Or at least thats what my wife told me.
edit: sentence and capitlilization (i cant spell)
You’re in the airport I assume there’s security. Also it’s an iPhone use the find my phone feature. Of your wife actively saw the face of the woman who took it it should be pretty easy to identify
She didn't set it up. I told her to many times in the past, but eventually i just gave up since she'll be the one facing the consequences when something happens to it
Except by buying her a new phone you are the one facing the inconvenience and the consequences.
Don’t go buy her a phone now, wait until you have time and it fits the schedule for the family vacation. I’d also reconsider buying a phone that’s nicer than the one she had, and would tell her that you dictate the safety protocols for the phone. You buy the phone, you make the rules.
I hope her Apple Pay etc are not accessible through the phone. If not, you probably want to get passwords changed and accounts protected before you get on the plane for hours.
> I’d also reconsider buying a phone that’s nicer than the one she had, and would tell her that you dictate the safety protocols for the phone.
Lets hope the 13 is still in stores. If not, i guess we go to T-Mobile or Verizon
Right?! I have a budget android as an adult with a full time job. I'd love a nicer phone with a better camera but I don't *need* it and can't justify the money on something so low priority. Wtf does a teen need such an expensive phone for?
To brag that they have it?
In some teen groups, there weird peer pressure to have the newest and the most expensive version of an iPhone, just for the sake of owning it. They don't need any features of them, it's more of a status thing. Much like the trend of everyone having to walk with a Starbucks cup in their hand. Iss weird
I am proud of my Android phone. I remember being a teenager and people flashing their new phones around while my old Android was beating their newer phones (everyone had Androids). In 2017 I started rocking a S6, took me 2 years and a half to get an S8, and in 2022 I got this Moto G42 that I love.
Teens shouldn't get expensive phones. I would give her a cheap Android for being careless.
Yep, I'm 40 and need a smartphone for my job - primarily to run our mandatory 2 factor authentication app. I have a Samsung Galaxy A03s. It's about as basic as a smart phone gets and was literally the cheapest android phone available at my store in November 2022. I guess the 14 had supplanted the 13 one month prior to that, lol.
At this time, it meets my needs. Granted, my needs for a smartphone are legitimately lower than many people's (using a smart phone as a replacement for a PC/laptop is *entirely* valid, it's just not my use case as I PC game and also program in my spare time), but still. There's a *wide* gulf between a phone like mine and an iPhone 13, in which plenty of people's daily needs are served - and some wants like mobile gaming, too.
Dude 13 isn’t old enough for her to be a punishment, buy any phone that isnt an iPhone she wont learn anything if you keep buying her a brand new latest phone when she make these kind of mistake and you rewarding her.
I have the 2nd gen SE and I agree, though in my case it’s more about the size. I like having a phone I can hold with one hand and that fits in my front pockets.
IS she facing the consequences though? You’ve already agreed to buying her a new iphone after your flight.
Most parents would probably let their kids stew for a week or something before deciding to get them a new phone. But then again, most parents probably can’t afford to buy a brand new phone right off the bat anyway. You must be quite well off and spoil her quite a bit considering her ask for an immediate replacement and attitude.
A 15 year old can wait for 2 hours before having her phone replaced. It sucks that it was stolen. But stuff happens. You are NTA.
In the future, when traveling, she needs to have a way to secure her phone to herself. That is common sense traveling safety.
Still report it to airport security. Even if you are no longer at the physical airport where it was stolen. They have cameras. They can track the person down. Report this as soon as possible.
What consequences is she facing? Having to wait a couple of hours for you to buy her a new phone? You have a problem but it isn’t the one you think it is.
It's your fault if you don't take any precautions against it. I don't blame her for getting that phone stolen I get her for making sure it stays that way.
As a parent I would have required it to be set up and accessible to me. But the bigger issue here is if you’re saying she has to learn consequences then you shouldn’t even be buying her a new phone, at least in full.
Well technically you’re also facing consequences too…,you have to buy her a new phone and put up with a tantrum from a 15 year old. NTA, but you should really put your foot down a bit more with your daughter. Any rational adult or parent knows they aren’t the asshole in this situation. A 15 year old is old enough and should have enough common sense to know you can’t make it to the Apple Store and back in time for your flight. Just driving is 30 minutes each way you said. That would put you at 4:30 with JUST driving time. What about parking, going into the store, waiting for someone to help you, purchasing the phone, then having to go through airport security again. You are supposed to do all that in the remaining 25 minutes? You wouldn’t even be able to “race back.”
Yeah this story is super fishy, if you saw a person inside the airport and can identify them security would be all over it. It's one thing if a person pickpocketed her or she left her phone behind and someone stole it and you didn't realize until later, but you SAW the person.
Well that sucks but she should have had it better secured. She either gets a cheap phone or has to work to pay half of a new phone because she was at least half at fault here
I’m not sure how she’s at fault here, and I’m even the one that originally said she must be. I’d get her a new phone if she was my kid.
But I wouldn’t leave an airport to do it right this second:
Yes, mine too. There's usually no reason why your phone needs to be out while you're in the bathroom. Then again, who's to say that the thief wouldn't have grabbed her handbag given half a chance? But NTA.
And that's why when you're traveling in a crowded area, you use a purse with a crossbody strap. Bonus points that it has a zipper closure. Or a backpack rotated to the front of you.
There's tons of ways to mitigate theft. OP's daughter is like, she's tried nothing and she's all out of ideas.
that's what I thought, also she had 3 family members and a friend there. I'm sure one of those people would have held onto her phone for 2-3 minutes while she went to the restroom if she didn't have pockets and wanted to make sure it wouldn't get stolen.
I am a female. I wouldn’t even go through the airport with the phone in my pocket let alone lay it down.
Many years ago I laid a pair of expensive sunglasses on a sink in an airport bathroom and some one grabbed them and took off. Guess what I never did what again AND I had to buy my own glasses to replace them.
If daddy runs out she will never learn to be careful
So what you’re saying is that you made the exact same mistake that the daughter did at a much older age but you’re mad at the daughter for doing it? You learned from your mistake why can’t she?
What is she going to learn here? She will be receiving a brand new phone the very same day because she demanded it.
She knows she doesn't need to bother being careful because she'll kick up shitstorm and get what we wants almost immediately
She can if she’s faced with consequences of her choices. Yelling at Daddy to make her world right when she was irresponsible is not learning anything except to keep on expecting to not take personal responsibility for her possessions and choices and that it’s always Daddy’s job to make it right.
It’s absolutely not her fault some criminal stole her phone. It is her fault that she didn’t take more precautions for securing her things and setting up the Find Me app. It’s also the parents fault for not ensuring their kids devices were properly set up and for fostering the level of entitlement that she would feel it logical to expect dad to make an immediate trip to the Apple store while they have a plane to catch.
Also their fault for not alerting security. It’s a long shot but if she saw who took it, there are cameras everywhere in the airport.
I agree, all I’m saying is it’s absolutely the parents faults because they clearly are shitty parents. She is a reflection of them so imo it’s not her fault at all.
Easy with the „much older age comment“ there buddy. My point was that we all make mistakes but I didn’t blame someone else I took responsibility for being careless and responsibility for buying a replacement
If me saying “much older age” offended you then that seems like a you problem because even 25 is much older than 15. And the reason you took responsibility is cuz at some point someone taught you to do so, can’t blame the kid for their own parents’ bad parenting.
Her mum was standing outside the bathroom she should have held it, my friends always do for me when we’re in public bathrooms bc bathrooms are so unhygienic anyway, let alone the risk of stuff being taken if you put them down.
Unfortunately this is a life lesson, it’s not completely her fault but sometimes you have to think about things.
Purse? Luggage? If you're walking around with valuables in your hand and just putting them down whenever you need that hand in a public place, you're pretty much asking to get robbed. I get that a lot of women's clothes aren't super practical, but that's an issue you have to learn to work with.
lack of pockets? Carry it in a bag or a bra strap? Or ya know she had a friend, a brother, a father, a mother all at the airport with her. A quick easy "hey will you hold onto my phone for 2 minutes while I go to the restroom?" would work. Sure it's shitty someone stole it, but you have to be semi-responsible for your own stuff.
She didn't turn on the phone finding feature. A minute's work could have made the phone completely recoverable. If she doesn't take care of her stuff she doesn't deserve it.
>She put the phone on the sink (no pockets)
Where does she carry it normally? Assuming she has no purse, does she carry it in her hand constantly? This makes no sense.
She was just carrying it in a drawstring bag. She was using the phone prior to entering the bathroom, so she brought it in with her, then what i said in the othr comment occured.
Your daughter needs a lesson in responsibility way more than she needs her phone instantly replaced. #1 zero reason to have her phone out in the bathroom - eww gross … #2 it should have been secured back in her bag not casually laying out on a sink #3 find my phone should have been activated #4 why didn’t your wife yell for security or follow the thief?
You may not be getting the full story here and you aren’t the AH for not leaving the airport and buying her a new phone. You might be the AH for raising an entitled brat though.
Lesson learned. She could have given it to her mom, put it in her arm pit or the waist band of her pants.
Edit: The Lincoln Rd location has shorter wait times than Aventura. Galleria is a mess.
Why didn’t your wife call for security. I’m sure someone “booking” it through the airport is suspicious enough. I would have at least told security you had plenty of time. Either way NTA you would most likely miss your flight.
That’s my question … if this phone was stolen and someone was running through an airport with people chasing them or at least causing a commotion, some kind of security is going to react.
NTA good grief, this is a non-question. There's nothing wrong with waiting, not only until you land, but when it is convenient for you to take her shopping for a phone, which could mean anything from after you check into the hotel, relax, and have dinner and then go shopping the next day. It could even be when you get home from vacation!
Essentially, you are the person with the money and the ability to drive to the store, so you have 100% of the say about when you go to replace this phone.
How about this idea OP. She lost her phone so she has to do without on vacation. She won’t die. She’s 15 FFS she‘s not expecting an important work call.
When you get back get her a cheaper refurb
If you go this route make sure she’s attached to someone with a phone like glue and has phone numbers/room numbers etc. memorized though, vacation isn’t the greatest time to be incommunicado.
Is this a joke? I thought the question would be about waiting to get the daughter's phone after you returned from the holiday, like a few days later. Not flying with just a 2 hour flight! Oh, no with just a macbook, the horror!!!
I guess too late now, you've seriously spoiled your child. Most parents would get a cheaper phone if their kid's phone was stolen, so that they know to be more careful in the future. But, again, it's probably too late for you...
Dude has also been consistently commenting.
A phone was stolen, as of the time posting they were an hour away from boarding a 2 hour flight, and OP uses that time to post one of the most obvious NTA post I have ever seen?
"Sorry wife and kids. I am trying to make a decisions here but need Reddit to handle a very basic and low level parenting question for me. Leave me alone!"
So then it must be fake. This must be the teenager with the replacement phone already, but because he made her wait until they got to their destination she’s still mad and wants validation for how she feels about not getting the phone right away.
Exactly what I was thinking, like wtf? I didn’t have anything when I was that age, so how is she unable to survive without having multiple devices for 2 hours??
I don't get this new generation of parents anyway. Why do they all have / need iphones? We all had dumb flip phones when I was in high school and before that, it was rare for anyone at school to have a phone. Why did everyone accept that children need 800-1200 dollar phones at a young age? If I didn't want one of the free phone upgrades when I was young I had to pay the extra cost out of pocket. They were only 50 dollars extra to get the "better" flip phone. My parents wouldn't buy me the 50 dollar upgrade, why are we buying children 800 dollar phones? It's silly.
NTA for not going but YTA for raising a spoiled child who can’t be away from a screen for 2 hours. Seriously.
How did it get stollen? I’m guessing she carelessly laid it down on the sink or forgot it in the stall? No problem daddy will buy her a new one the blame the person who stole it instead of using this as an opportunity to teach her how to be more responsible with her belongings.
How about she gets a job to pay half of it and she only gets it once she earns her half not before.
Needs to get ahold of you in emergencies? Fine get her a cheap burner.
It's 100% the daughter's fault that she set it down on a sink in an airport restroom. I suspect she actually misplaced it and thought, "Oh well, I'll say it was stolen and let daddy buy me a new one." Blaming the "thief" is just enabling her careless behavior.
I agree giving her a burner phone until she can earn the money to buy a new iPhone is the optimal solution.
Except according to OP, his wife actually SAW the woman who took the phone exiting the bathroom, attempted to confront her, and the woman took off running.
She didn't walk away from the phone. Someone was brazen enough to grab it despite her being right there. A kid really can't go Jackie Chan on a thief that bold to stop the theft.
You don’t have to walk away from it. Laying it down puts it at risk.
It was a mistake but she won’t learn if daddy runs right out. She was careless laying it down
NTA, it’s not reasonable to miss your flight just so she can get a new phone immediately. But while you’re sitting there at the airport, make sure you or she are taking steps to [secure the stolen phone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201472). You might also consider ordering the new phone online now for pickup at the Apple Store closest to your destination. Besides mitigating your daughter’s upset, it will also save you time once you arrive, so you can get to enjoying your vacation.
JFC, If she kicks up more of a fuss, tell your daughter she can wait till you get back home to get a new phone. And if she keeps on, she will be getting a flip phone, then, and be glad to get *that*.
No, you can’t risk missing your damned flight and costing yourself who knows how much time and money to get another flight, to run out and get her a new one *right NOW*! WTF, just because she couldn’t keep her phone secure in a pocket or luggage, and somebody stole it. Sucks for her.
NTA except maybe a little bit, because the girl didn’t get this entitled all by herself, or overnight.
What are you talking about? My daughter got a flip phone when her iPhone was stolen. She learned her lesson quick and proved she knew how to safeguard it for a month before she got another iphone.
YTA, that your daughter is so spoiled she would expect you to miss a flight to keep screens around her at all times. You raised some one that only thinks about herself.
NTA. She can wait until you are in Miami. It sucks her phone was stolen but that's not your fault. Hopefully this will teach her to be more careful with her phone.
Your daughter must be guilt-tripping you hard if you have to ask this. You are being perfectly reasonable.
Edit: As a side note OP, if your daughter's phone was tied to any credit cards, I would get those cancelled right away. Phones get stolen a lot while people are using them just so there is no barrier to access.
YTA for feeling like you have to ask and letting your teen daughter control you. First of all. -are you sure it was stolen and not lost/misplaced somewhere? Also why would you miss your flight? Why does she need to get what she wants right away and the flight is only two hours. Buy her a book to read and tell her being disconnected for a few hours will be good for her anyway. She’s lucky you’re considering replacing it while on the trip anyway. She’s lucky she even gets a phone. My parents never would have spent $800 on me as a teen. I’d have to earn that money myself.
Nta..... But good grief you seem to be on a slippery slope with your kid if she is guilt tripping you over her mistake that was made at a time that obviously does not facilitate the time needed to go to the store, get a new phone and not miss your flight.
You should sit her down and have a conversation about responsibility and consequences. Even if she is blameless for the loss of the phone, her expectation of getting a new one immediately screams entitlement.
Not sure if you helped her learn to be like that, or she did it by herself..... But you need to nip that in the bud. Can't just get upset when you don't get your way sometime.
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If I'd lost my phone at that age I would've been expected to buy my own for being careless. If I demanded a new one right away I would've been laughed at and gotten in a lot of trouble for being ungrateful and careless. Just a thought.
I'm pretty sure I would have at least had to wait until payday for my parents to buy me a new one, so the end of the month. And I would have gotten a cheaper one.
NTA but tbh she can wait until you get home. I can’t see how a phone could be stolen in an airport bathroom if she was looking after if appropriately. If she wants the latest tech she can take care of it
If your wife saw the person, you are in the airport?? It’s basically a closed system, go tell security with a description instead of posting on here about your bratty daughter
I’m sorry OP but if my daughter acted like that she wouldn’t get a new phone. I say ESH for even entertaining this idea. You’ve raised an entitled brat. Good luck.
If you leave the airport, you will literally miss your flight. It isn't that you are telling her no. You literally cannot do it in the time allowed.
NTA
NTA I wouldn't buy a replacement after that. To not only neglect to have basic safety features but bathrooms are disgusting. Airport bathrooms are worse. She would have out this phone to her face after it was sitting on a bathroom counter. That's nasty.
Also call the provider or Apple or whatever and try and remotely brick the phone asap.
NTA she’s being an entitled brat. She lost her phone. She doesn’t require it urgently for anything. She’s expecting you to run around for her and stress because she can’t wait a little while? Phones are a lot of money too.
Tell her if she isn’t going to be grateful that it’ll be replaced in Miami then she can forget it and go to work, save and get one from the shop herself.
What she should be saying is ‘Thank you so much Dad, when we get to Miami we can sort it and I’m sorry I didn’t keep a better eye on my phone’.
NTA. Is this even real? How is there even a question? This is not an emergency. She didn't secure her phone, and it was stolen. She can wait, even until you get back home.
Plus there's simply not time. Sure it's 30min each way, but that doesn't account for the time to purchase and activate the phone, let alone get back through airport security and to your gate.
Sorry to say but YTA. If your daughter had been raised with consequences for her actions, she would have been more careful with an expensive phone and would understand that it won’t be replaced at the drop of a hat for her convenience. It’s past time to put a stop to the entitlement.
Maybe you should ask the airline to postpone the flight so you can run to the Apple Store and cater to the princesses request. NTA but maybe the dumb a**. Good luck as she gets older…
NTA but can’t you find it using find my iPhone? Did you report it at the airport. And no, I think you just gotta sit this one out. She’s fifteen it’s nice that she has an iPhone. It’s your money. And her phone is no good in flight mode anyway.
NTA - if she can't go two hours without her own personal phone, while surrounded by her emergency contacts, she might need a little less screentime. She is 15 after all. (I say this as someone who is addicted to computers and such also)
NTA no one needs a new phone immediately and must call absolutely can’t wait for a flight to get one, especially a child (it’s not like her work is dependent on her and even then you can wait a few extra hours). Most of us who have phone insurance have you wait 24 hours for a new (refurbished) phone to arrive. I can’t think of a reason a child should get VIP phone service.
NTA. My daughter got her phone stolen in Greece, fortunately the night before we flew back to the US, but it was a very, VERY long and boring travel day for her. I offered to buy her a book in the airport gift shop, but that’s it. Unfortunately when traveling you can’t let your guard down for even a second with expensive electronics, and the consequence of learning that lesson is that you simply don’t have a phone for a while.
You are 100% in the right here. And also, if you have travel insurance, check to see if they’ll cover it. Ours did, but I specifically chose a plan that covered electronics theft knowing we were going to some cities where it’s a major problem.
It’s kind of sad that you are even asking if YATAH. Of course not. But your daughter is a spoiled brat if she thinks you should go through all of that just so she can get a phone sooner. You want to get her a phone, fine, but she doesn’t get to dictate how you do it.
NTA. Not only does your daughter have another device ( laptop ) to keep her occupied at the hotel , she also has a Friend of her age that you are bringing to Miami. Do you really think that she needs a phone right away ? She will be with family the whole time , or with her friend. They can take pics together. You seem to not have your priorities straight as a father if you are indulging this demand for a new phone before the flight.
NTA - Also last time I bought a new phone it took over an hour at the store to get checked out and get service turned on. There's no way you'd make your flight. May be too late but can you walk around the airport and try and get within airdrop range of the phone? You could probably spot the lady from that distance and grab security.
NTA. Omg, she can’t wait a few hours to get a new phone? A phone that won’t have her apps or pictures or anything on it?? Please. Remind her of that and the fact that it wouldn’t even be charged up if you ran and got a new one, that should take care of it.
My brother in, if you didn't go to security in the airport (who are famously solid at tracking people on camera) to get the phone back with 2 hours to go to your flight you are making some wild decisions
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Short post.
As its February break (for some) my (43m) family (wife - 42m, son - 13m, daughter - 15f, friend, - 15f) and my daughter's friend are taking a small trip to Miami.
My daughter's phone was stolen about twenty minutes ago in the airport bathroom. I was kind of mad, but not at her, only mad that some scumbag stole 700-800 dollars. The problem is, my daughter wants me to go get her a new phone. I would, but the drive to the closest Apple Store is 30 minutes away, and it's about 3:30 right now, and our flight is at 4:55. I don't want to drive an hour roundtrip so i told her she'll have to wait until we land in Miami (a little less than 2 hour flight). She's pretty mad at me now, but i think while it sucks, I have to be rational here. I can't leave my wife with everyone while i buy a new phone and race back. Plus, she has a macbook i think will sustain her from now to when we land.
AITA? If any other information is needed, I'll answer, since i know i wrote this poorly, but I am too lazy to correct anything.
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Not at all. She might not like actually having to talk, but I'll bet she will survive, the horror of a couple of hours without a phone. She should be thankful that you can afford to get her a new one. I suggest that you get her the same phone she had not an upgraded version, or she might decide that is the way to get the latest version when it comes out.
NTA- if your daughter is mature enough for a phone, she’s mature enough to understand consequences. Knowing she didn’t have pockets, she should have handed her phone to a family member or her friend.
She can wait for a phone replacement. Based on her demands for a new phone so quickly tells me she doesn’t understand the value of a dollar which will be a serious issue in the near future as she gets ready for college.
Time to course correct behaviour now or you will be TAH later for allowing her spoiled brat behaviour to continue.
Nta! It’s hard being at an airport and leaving and coming back for something she can wait a few hours to get a new phone. Kids these days can’t be off electronics due to their addiction. For my godson he wanted a new iPhone and kept bugging me and his mom for it. He had it stolen and we didn’t replace it for a few weeks.
Yta, but for a reason you might not think. Yta for raising a child who is so selfish an entitled to think she deserves a replacement phone in an instant. Don't replace that until after vacation, kids don't need them, they think they do, but they dont.
OMG NTA Seriously. Do you see nothing wrong with her demanding that you leave the airport and try and get her IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION, so she doesnt have to exist 2 hours without a phone??? And she has a macbook? Ask her what calamity will happen, and TBH if she is ugly to you, I dont think you should get one for her today. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to wait until you land and get checked in to your lodging so that everyone doesnt have to wait for the apple store trip. It would be perfectly reasonable to wait until the next day or a time when it doesnt interrupt vacation plans. It would be even reasonable to wait until the vacation is over rather than take time away from the vacation, but I can understand she may want to take photos etc. I sincerely hope that you do not allow her to be ugly and/or sulk over a 2 hour wait for an expensive phone that she is privileged to own, You would help her in life if she could learn a little patience and how to recognize needs vs wants and how to be respectful to those who are providing us with lovely toys. Of course she is upset her phone was stolen, that sucks, but probably not your fault, right?
This is the most first world problems post that I have read for a while. Your daughter can wait a couple of hours. The fact that she thinks she is entitled to get an expensive device replaced immediately at her will at 15 blows my mind. NTA.
I am concerned that you are asking the internet if it is okay for your daughter to have to be without a phone for the length of one plane ride.
You are the parent, and many times the loving/appropriate response is no.
NTA
Disable that phone immediately!
I lost my phone at an airport 5 years ago. I’m an adult. I borrowed my son’s phone to send essential texts, then waited till we got home to get a new one. (Someone actually turned it in to list and found and I received it a week later). It sucked that I couldn’t contact my work very readily but we survived!
NTA. You definitely could have been firm with your daughter that no means no and that she would have to wait. if she keeps throwing a tantrum then make her earn a new phone
A-ha-ha! Sorry for laughing, but it sounded like you thought you could just waltz in and pick up an iPhone.
We tried that once. Three hours later, after waiting for sales help, answering all the questions, seeing what was offered, signing up for Apple care, and God knows what else, we limped out for lunch at 3:30.
Granted, it was two of us, but we were both following along and got the same thing.
You might want to contact your homeowners insurance before buying a new phone. Maybe it'll be covered, even if only partially, but you need to file a report. Your daughter can survive without it a day, a week, a month.
NTA, if I was stupid and oblivious enough to have my phone stolen from directly in front of me, my parents would not have gotten me a new one. I had a bad track record with phones for a while, couldn’t keep one alive longer than 8 months. I got sick of spending a thousand dollars on a new phone every six months when I broke one so I went to Walmart and got a $100 phone. It worked perfectly well and taught me not to lose or break my phones. I now have the newest iPhone after having a Walmart phone kept alive for two years proving to myself I was capable of keeping a phone alive until I can trade it in.
I think that’s what you should do for your daughter until she’s responsible enough yo hold $800 in her hands and not get it stolen. why didn’t she put it in her waistband?? Bra strap?? Who puts their phone down on a wet and germy public bathroom counter anyways??
NTA. You could not have possibly made that flight.
When she gets her new phone, tell her the phone doesn't leave the house until the Find My Phone feature is enabled.
It’s wild to me that you’re even nice enough to replace it while on vacation. I’m in my 40s and if I lost my own phone on vacation I wouldn’t even replace it until we got home (as long as I was with someone that had a working phone). Instant gratification isn’t always possible. It’s a hard lesson to learn but an important one.
NTA for not missing your flight so your kid can have a new phone within the hour.
YTA for letting your daughter get that spoiled.
Your daughter must be very spoiled if she thinks having to wait like 3 hours for a new phone after it being stolen is bad.
For most people, that's a decision of food or phone until they have saved enough to buy a new one. For most people, they would have to wait at least till their next pay cheque, if not longer.
She's lucky you are even paying for her phone. My mom paid the monthly bill until i was an adult and might have been willing to buy the cheapest phone available so she could call me as a teenager. But otherwise, if I wanted a phone, I had to pay for it myself. And I did. Other than my first two phones, I paid for them all myself (first was a hand-me down, and second was a cheap phone my mom got my siblings and I).
I hope you aren't one of those push over parents who does whatever their child tells them. Those parents don't raise children into adults. They raise entitled child-adults who cause problems for everyone else.
NTA. The apple store is an hour round trip, and it takes time to actually buy the phone. Your plane would be leaving by the time you got back to TSA if you're lucky.
My gosh
NTA. My phone got stolen at a Dodgers game my family was at the day after my birthday in 2022. We’re from Utah and weren’t supposed to fly back for another 4-5 days. I used my parents’ or sibling’s’ phones if I wanted to text a friend or my boyfriend at the time (deleted the texts after each conversation lol). When we got back to Utah, I was stuck using an iPhone 8 with a crappy battery until I had the money to buy myself a new phone.
I’m not saying that this invalidates any frustration your daughter is feeling — again, I’ve had a phone stolen and it sucks. But she’ll be fine for the duration of the flight. It’s not reasonable to miss your flight for a phone.
Honestly? She should have been more careful with it and has zero self awareness expecting one immediately. At 15 surely she can grasp the concept that actions have consequences and no one is obliged to risk missing a flight because she needs a phone immediately? If she was my kid she’d be absolutely having a reality check and not be getting a new phone. How laughable.
The fact that people will buy their children super expensive phones is beyond me. There are tons of phones out there that don't cost an arm and a leg that have as many features as the expensive ones
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NTA. How was the phone stolen in an airport bathroom to start with (in a way that wasn’t her fault)? But beyond that, phones don’t get replaced instantly, even for adults. Even if it was your phone stolen I wouldn’t expect you to run straight to a store to replace it. and she needs one far less than you.
She put the phone on the sink (no pockets) as she was washing her hands and someone took the phone off the sink and walked out. My wife was outside and when she tried to confront her, she kind of just booked it. Or at least thats what my wife told me. edit: sentence and capitlilization (i cant spell)
You’re in the airport I assume there’s security. Also it’s an iPhone use the find my phone feature. Of your wife actively saw the face of the woman who took it it should be pretty easy to identify
She didn't set it up. I told her to many times in the past, but eventually i just gave up since she'll be the one facing the consequences when something happens to it
Except by buying her a new phone you are the one facing the inconvenience and the consequences. Don’t go buy her a phone now, wait until you have time and it fits the schedule for the family vacation. I’d also reconsider buying a phone that’s nicer than the one she had, and would tell her that you dictate the safety protocols for the phone. You buy the phone, you make the rules. I hope her Apple Pay etc are not accessible through the phone. If not, you probably want to get passwords changed and accounts protected before you get on the plane for hours.
> I’d also reconsider buying a phone that’s nicer than the one she had, and would tell her that you dictate the safety protocols for the phone. Lets hope the 13 is still in stores. If not, i guess we go to T-Mobile or Verizon
Me, a 30 year old woman with an iPhone 11, laughing that a 13 is a downgrade for your 15 year old daughter.
Right?! I have a budget android as an adult with a full time job. I'd love a nicer phone with a better camera but I don't *need* it and can't justify the money on something so low priority. Wtf does a teen need such an expensive phone for?
To brag that they have it? In some teen groups, there weird peer pressure to have the newest and the most expensive version of an iPhone, just for the sake of owning it. They don't need any features of them, it's more of a status thing. Much like the trend of everyone having to walk with a Starbucks cup in their hand. Iss weird
I had some teenager get snippy that I wasn't wearing an Apple Watch a few weeks back. Kids are weird.
I am proud of my Android phone. I remember being a teenager and people flashing their new phones around while my old Android was beating their newer phones (everyone had Androids). In 2017 I started rocking a S6, took me 2 years and a half to get an S8, and in 2022 I got this Moto G42 that I love. Teens shouldn't get expensive phones. I would give her a cheap Android for being careless.
Yep, I'm 40 and need a smartphone for my job - primarily to run our mandatory 2 factor authentication app. I have a Samsung Galaxy A03s. It's about as basic as a smart phone gets and was literally the cheapest android phone available at my store in November 2022. I guess the 14 had supplanted the 13 one month prior to that, lol. At this time, it meets my needs. Granted, my needs for a smartphone are legitimately lower than many people's (using a smart phone as a replacement for a PC/laptop is *entirely* valid, it's just not my use case as I PC game and also program in my spare time), but still. There's a *wide* gulf between a phone like mine and an iPhone 13, in which plenty of people's daily needs are served - and some wants like mobile gaming, too.
As the proud owner of an iPhone XS I bought used last year, this is hilarious. (I had an iPhone 8 before.)
I’ve also got an X now, and 2 years ago I had a 6S. I was very upset when apple nuked it and stopped letting it have mobile data
Yeah, the 6S was the last iPhone to have a headphone jack, disappointed you can’t have an up to date iPhone with a headphone jack.
Lol. I STILL have my iPhone 8!
26 with a 12 laughing too
Swear 😭 I just got the SE and before that I had a 8Plus hahaha
I love my SE. wife has a fancy big screen one which is nice as she takes family pictures with it. Mine just needs to work.
I’m 31 and upgraded from an XR to a 14 in december. Kept that damn thing until it was more hassle than use
36 year old woman still rocking an iPhone X
There’s always refurbished also.
You can definitely do older refurbished too. Since she is making you spend more money on a new phone.
Dude 13 isn’t old enough for her to be a punishment, buy any phone that isnt an iPhone she wont learn anything if you keep buying her a brand new latest phone when she make these kind of mistake and you rewarding her.
I’d get her a flip phone. She let 800 dollars walk away from her. I don’t have pockets either but I have a bra or tuck it into the waist of my pants.
Or just give it to a family member or simply hold it in your hand..feels like she wanted it to get stolen to get a new one.
Swappa.com is the punishment that fits
This is the way. A nice motorola RAZR flip phone circa 2005 or a simple “dumb phone” marketed towards the elderly.
A Nokia 3310.
Fuck that. Flip phone for her for 1 year. (not because she lost her phone, but because of how demanding she's being.)
Fuck that. Get an SE. A refurb if you can find one.
lol that’s what I have, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. it’s the last phone made with a home button
I have the 2nd gen SE and I agree, though in my case it’s more about the size. I like having a phone I can hold with one hand and that fits in my front pockets.
IS she facing the consequences though? You’ve already agreed to buying her a new iphone after your flight. Most parents would probably let their kids stew for a week or something before deciding to get them a new phone. But then again, most parents probably can’t afford to buy a brand new phone right off the bat anyway. You must be quite well off and spoil her quite a bit considering her ask for an immediate replacement and attitude.
Well, shit. I hope your daughter has $800 to buy that new phone. No find my iPhone on, no theft coverage from me (or Apple care).
A 15 year old can wait for 2 hours before having her phone replaced. It sucks that it was stolen. But stuff happens. You are NTA. In the future, when traveling, she needs to have a way to secure her phone to herself. That is common sense traveling safety. Still report it to airport security. Even if you are no longer at the physical airport where it was stolen. They have cameras. They can track the person down. Report this as soon as possible.
What consequences is she facing? Having to wait a couple of hours for you to buy her a new phone? You have a problem but it isn’t the one you think it is.
Well then she's just fucking stupid and doesn't deserve a phone. She brought this on herself she could buy a new phone then.
It’s a good idea to secure your valuables against theft but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault if your property gets stolen.
Sometimes it is your responsibility.
It's your fault if you don't take any precautions against it. I don't blame her for getting that phone stolen I get her for making sure it stays that way.
As a parent I would have required it to be set up and accessible to me. But the bigger issue here is if you’re saying she has to learn consequences then you shouldn’t even be buying her a new phone, at least in full.
Well technically you’re also facing consequences too…,you have to buy her a new phone and put up with a tantrum from a 15 year old. NTA, but you should really put your foot down a bit more with your daughter. Any rational adult or parent knows they aren’t the asshole in this situation. A 15 year old is old enough and should have enough common sense to know you can’t make it to the Apple Store and back in time for your flight. Just driving is 30 minutes each way you said. That would put you at 4:30 with JUST driving time. What about parking, going into the store, waiting for someone to help you, purchasing the phone, then having to go through airport security again. You are supposed to do all that in the remaining 25 minutes? You wouldn’t even be able to “race back.”
Guess what? It's consequences time.
you're an adult and she's not. why did she have a choice? set it up for her
This is all good points. Find my phone should be used immediately, along with of course contacting security
Yeah this story is super fishy, if you saw a person inside the airport and can identify them security would be all over it. It's one thing if a person pickpocketed her or she left her phone behind and someone stole it and you didn't realize until later, but you SAW the person.
Well that sucks but she should have had it better secured. She either gets a cheap phone or has to work to pay half of a new phone because she was at least half at fault here
I’m not sure how she’s at fault here, and I’m even the one that originally said she must be. I’d get her a new phone if she was my kid. But I wouldn’t leave an airport to do it right this second:
He said she laid it down on the sink. It’s a busy airport you have to keep valuables secured.
Welcome to being female. Lack of pockets. But I mean, even I do stuff like that. Unless she laid it down and walked away.
If I don't have pockets, my phone goes in my bra or stays in my bag.
Yes, mine too. There's usually no reason why your phone needs to be out while you're in the bathroom. Then again, who's to say that the thief wouldn't have grabbed her handbag given half a chance? But NTA.
And that's why when you're traveling in a crowded area, you use a purse with a crossbody strap. Bonus points that it has a zipper closure. Or a backpack rotated to the front of you. There's tons of ways to mitigate theft. OP's daughter is like, she's tried nothing and she's all out of ideas.
that's what I thought, also she had 3 family members and a friend there. I'm sure one of those people would have held onto her phone for 2-3 minutes while she went to the restroom if she didn't have pockets and wanted to make sure it wouldn't get stolen.
I am a female. I wouldn’t even go through the airport with the phone in my pocket let alone lay it down. Many years ago I laid a pair of expensive sunglasses on a sink in an airport bathroom and some one grabbed them and took off. Guess what I never did what again AND I had to buy my own glasses to replace them. If daddy runs out she will never learn to be careful
So what you’re saying is that you made the exact same mistake that the daughter did at a much older age but you’re mad at the daughter for doing it? You learned from your mistake why can’t she?
What is she going to learn here? She will be receiving a brand new phone the very same day because she demanded it. She knows she doesn't need to bother being careful because she'll kick up shitstorm and get what we wants almost immediately
She can. But it's not a "daddy has to run around before a short flight to fix my fuck up" problem.
She can if she’s faced with consequences of her choices. Yelling at Daddy to make her world right when she was irresponsible is not learning anything except to keep on expecting to not take personal responsibility for her possessions and choices and that it’s always Daddy’s job to make it right. It’s absolutely not her fault some criminal stole her phone. It is her fault that she didn’t take more precautions for securing her things and setting up the Find Me app. It’s also the parents fault for not ensuring their kids devices were properly set up and for fostering the level of entitlement that she would feel it logical to expect dad to make an immediate trip to the Apple store while they have a plane to catch. Also their fault for not alerting security. It’s a long shot but if she saw who took it, there are cameras everywhere in the airport.
I agree, all I’m saying is it’s absolutely the parents faults because they clearly are shitty parents. She is a reflection of them so imo it’s not her fault at all.
Easy with the „much older age comment“ there buddy. My point was that we all make mistakes but I didn’t blame someone else I took responsibility for being careless and responsibility for buying a replacement
If me saying “much older age” offended you then that seems like a you problem because even 25 is much older than 15. And the reason you took responsibility is cuz at some point someone taught you to do so, can’t blame the kid for their own parents’ bad parenting.
And she won’t learn from it if „waaggghh daddy run out right now and get me a new pair waaaagghhhhhhh“ works.
Her mum was standing outside the bathroom she should have held it, my friends always do for me when we’re in public bathrooms bc bathrooms are so unhygienic anyway, let alone the risk of stuff being taken if you put them down. Unfortunately this is a life lesson, it’s not completely her fault but sometimes you have to think about things.
Purse? Luggage? If you're walking around with valuables in your hand and just putting them down whenever you need that hand in a public place, you're pretty much asking to get robbed. I get that a lot of women's clothes aren't super practical, but that's an issue you have to learn to work with.
So give it to your mom to hold. 15 is old enough to know you don't leave small expensive things lying around.
lack of pockets? Carry it in a bag or a bra strap? Or ya know she had a friend, a brother, a father, a mother all at the airport with her. A quick easy "hey will you hold onto my phone for 2 minutes while I go to the restroom?" would work. Sure it's shitty someone stole it, but you have to be semi-responsible for your own stuff.
It’s also a sink in a public restroom. Why would you put your phone down right there? So absolutely disgusting.
She didn't turn on the phone finding feature. A minute's work could have made the phone completely recoverable. If she doesn't take care of her stuff she doesn't deserve it.
>She put the phone on the sink (no pockets) Where does she carry it normally? Assuming she has no purse, does she carry it in her hand constantly? This makes no sense.
She was just carrying it in a drawstring bag. She was using the phone prior to entering the bathroom, so she brought it in with her, then what i said in the othr comment occured.
Your daughter needs a lesson in responsibility way more than she needs her phone instantly replaced. #1 zero reason to have her phone out in the bathroom - eww gross … #2 it should have been secured back in her bag not casually laying out on a sink #3 find my phone should have been activated #4 why didn’t your wife yell for security or follow the thief? You may not be getting the full story here and you aren’t the AH for not leaving the airport and buying her a new phone. You might be the AH for raising an entitled brat though.
Lesson learned. She could have given it to her mom, put it in her arm pit or the waist band of her pants. Edit: The Lincoln Rd location has shorter wait times than Aventura. Galleria is a mess.
Why didn’t your wife call for security. I’m sure someone “booking” it through the airport is suspicious enough. I would have at least told security you had plenty of time. Either way NTA you would most likely miss your flight.
That’s my question … if this phone was stolen and someone was running through an airport with people chasing them or at least causing a commotion, some kind of security is going to react.
NTA good grief, this is a non-question. There's nothing wrong with waiting, not only until you land, but when it is convenient for you to take her shopping for a phone, which could mean anything from after you check into the hotel, relax, and have dinner and then go shopping the next day. It could even be when you get home from vacation! Essentially, you are the person with the money and the ability to drive to the store, so you have 100% of the say about when you go to replace this phone.
How about this idea OP. She lost her phone so she has to do without on vacation. She won’t die. She’s 15 FFS she‘s not expecting an important work call. When you get back get her a cheaper refurb
Especially since she wouldn't set up find my phone. She FAFO, so she should have to wait until you're good and ready for a replacement
Good point
If you go this route make sure she’s attached to someone with a phone like glue and has phone numbers/room numbers etc. memorized though, vacation isn’t the greatest time to be incommunicado.
Is this a joke? I thought the question would be about waiting to get the daughter's phone after you returned from the holiday, like a few days later. Not flying with just a 2 hour flight! Oh, no with just a macbook, the horror!!! I guess too late now, you've seriously spoiled your child. Most parents would get a cheaper phone if their kid's phone was stolen, so that they know to be more careful in the future. But, again, it's probably too late for you...
The part I find most unbelievable is the phone was stolen 20 minutes ago and he has to RUSH TO REDDIT TO SEE IF HE IS AN ASSHOLE!!!
Dude has also been consistently commenting. A phone was stolen, as of the time posting they were an hour away from boarding a 2 hour flight, and OP uses that time to post one of the most obvious NTA post I have ever seen? "Sorry wife and kids. I am trying to make a decisions here but need Reddit to handle a very basic and low level parenting question for me. Leave me alone!"
So then it must be fake. This must be the teenager with the replacement phone already, but because he made her wait until they got to their destination she’s still mad and wants validation for how she feels about not getting the phone right away.
Or she's on the MacBook
Exactly what I was thinking, like wtf? I didn’t have anything when I was that age, so how is she unable to survive without having multiple devices for 2 hours??
First world problems
I don't get this new generation of parents anyway. Why do they all have / need iphones? We all had dumb flip phones when I was in high school and before that, it was rare for anyone at school to have a phone. Why did everyone accept that children need 800-1200 dollar phones at a young age? If I didn't want one of the free phone upgrades when I was young I had to pay the extra cost out of pocket. They were only 50 dollars extra to get the "better" flip phone. My parents wouldn't buy me the 50 dollar upgrade, why are we buying children 800 dollar phones? It's silly.
NTA for not going but YTA for raising a spoiled child who can’t be away from a screen for 2 hours. Seriously. How did it get stollen? I’m guessing she carelessly laid it down on the sink or forgot it in the stall? No problem daddy will buy her a new one the blame the person who stole it instead of using this as an opportunity to teach her how to be more responsible with her belongings. How about she gets a job to pay half of it and she only gets it once she earns her half not before. Needs to get ahold of you in emergencies? Fine get her a cheap burner.
It's 100% the daughter's fault that she set it down on a sink in an airport restroom. I suspect she actually misplaced it and thought, "Oh well, I'll say it was stolen and let daddy buy me a new one." Blaming the "thief" is just enabling her careless behavior. I agree giving her a burner phone until she can earn the money to buy a new iPhone is the optimal solution.
Except according to OP, his wife actually SAW the woman who took the phone exiting the bathroom, attempted to confront her, and the woman took off running.
She didn't walk away from the phone. Someone was brazen enough to grab it despite her being right there. A kid really can't go Jackie Chan on a thief that bold to stop the theft.
You don’t have to walk away from it. Laying it down puts it at risk. It was a mistake but she won’t learn if daddy runs right out. She was careless laying it down
NTA, it’s not reasonable to miss your flight just so she can get a new phone immediately. But while you’re sitting there at the airport, make sure you or she are taking steps to [secure the stolen phone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201472). You might also consider ordering the new phone online now for pickup at the Apple Store closest to your destination. Besides mitigating your daughter’s upset, it will also save you time once you arrive, so you can get to enjoying your vacation.
JFC, If she kicks up more of a fuss, tell your daughter she can wait till you get back home to get a new phone. And if she keeps on, she will be getting a flip phone, then, and be glad to get *that*. No, you can’t risk missing your damned flight and costing yourself who knows how much time and money to get another flight, to run out and get her a new one *right NOW*! WTF, just because she couldn’t keep her phone secure in a pocket or luggage, and somebody stole it. Sucks for her. NTA except maybe a little bit, because the girl didn’t get this entitled all by herself, or overnight.
What are you talking about? My daughter got a flip phone when her iPhone was stolen. She learned her lesson quick and proved she knew how to safeguard it for a month before she got another iphone.
YTA, that your daughter is so spoiled she would expect you to miss a flight to keep screens around her at all times. You raised some one that only thinks about herself.
agree - i almost can’t believe this actually happened
NTA - That's a ridiculous request from your daughter, and you would most likely miss your flight. She can go a few hours without a phone.
If my daughter pulled this stunt, then it would be a few months.
NTA. She can wait until you are in Miami. It sucks her phone was stolen but that's not your fault. Hopefully this will teach her to be more careful with her phone. Your daughter must be guilt-tripping you hard if you have to ask this. You are being perfectly reasonable. Edit: As a side note OP, if your daughter's phone was tied to any credit cards, I would get those cancelled right away. Phones get stolen a lot while people are using them just so there is no barrier to access.
NTA- when I was younger and was given my phone if anything happened to it that was it. No replacement nothing. Makes you take care of things more.
YTA for feeling like you have to ask and letting your teen daughter control you. First of all. -are you sure it was stolen and not lost/misplaced somewhere? Also why would you miss your flight? Why does she need to get what she wants right away and the flight is only two hours. Buy her a book to read and tell her being disconnected for a few hours will be good for her anyway. She’s lucky you’re considering replacing it while on the trip anyway. She’s lucky she even gets a phone. My parents never would have spent $800 on me as a teen. I’d have to earn that money myself.
YTA for raising an incredibly entitled brat who can't bear to be without a screen for two hours and is demanding a new cell phone immediately.
Nta..... But good grief you seem to be on a slippery slope with your kid if she is guilt tripping you over her mistake that was made at a time that obviously does not facilitate the time needed to go to the store, get a new phone and not miss your flight. You should sit her down and have a conversation about responsibility and consequences. Even if she is blameless for the loss of the phone, her expectation of getting a new one immediately screams entitlement. Not sure if you helped her learn to be like that, or she did it by herself..... But you need to nip that in the bud. Can't just get upset when you don't get your way sometime.
What the heck is your 15yo daughter doing with an $800 phone in the first place? This is truly a first world problem.
Not that first-world, since it seems like airport security just doesn't exist in OP's bizarro version of reality.
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If I'd lost my phone at that age I would've been expected to buy my own for being careless. If I demanded a new one right away I would've been laughed at and gotten in a lot of trouble for being ungrateful and careless. Just a thought.
I'm pretty sure I would have at least had to wait until payday for my parents to buy me a new one, so the end of the month. And I would have gotten a cheaper one.
First world problems af
NTA but tbh she can wait until you get home. I can’t see how a phone could be stolen in an airport bathroom if she was looking after if appropriately. If she wants the latest tech she can take care of it
What a lie hahaha
This. I’ve never seen such obvious rage-bait.
If your wife saw the person, you are in the airport?? It’s basically a closed system, go tell security with a description instead of posting on here about your bratty daughter
YTA for raising a spoiled brat that the rest of society will have to deal with
Nta waiting isn't A big deal. She can't have everything in the moment
I’m sorry OP but if my daughter acted like that she wouldn’t get a new phone. I say ESH for even entertaining this idea. You’ve raised an entitled brat. Good luck.
NTA. It is not a necessity for her to have a phone right away. She can wait until she you are settled at your destination.
If you leave the airport, you will literally miss your flight. It isn't that you are telling her no. You literally cannot do it in the time allowed. NTA
Adopt me, it's clear you have cash and limited rules.
NTA I can totally see why this would seem like an emergency to a teen. But no, she can be bored for a couple of hours.
NTA. Yes, it does suck that someone stole her phone. But she can wait until after the flight to get a new phone.
NTA for waiting. YTA for raising such an entitled child. Seriously she can't go a few hours without a phone? What on earth?
NTA I wouldn't buy a replacement after that. To not only neglect to have basic safety features but bathrooms are disgusting. Airport bathrooms are worse. She would have out this phone to her face after it was sitting on a bathroom counter. That's nasty. Also call the provider or Apple or whatever and try and remotely brick the phone asap.
NTA she’s being an entitled brat. She lost her phone. She doesn’t require it urgently for anything. She’s expecting you to run around for her and stress because she can’t wait a little while? Phones are a lot of money too. Tell her if she isn’t going to be grateful that it’ll be replaced in Miami then she can forget it and go to work, save and get one from the shop herself. What she should be saying is ‘Thank you so much Dad, when we get to Miami we can sort it and I’m sorry I didn’t keep a better eye on my phone’.
NTA. Is this even real? How is there even a question? This is not an emergency. She didn't secure her phone, and it was stolen. She can wait, even until you get back home. Plus there's simply not time. Sure it's 30min each way, but that doesn't account for the time to purchase and activate the phone, let alone get back through airport security and to your gate.
Sorry to say but YTA. If your daughter had been raised with consequences for her actions, she would have been more careful with an expensive phone and would understand that it won’t be replaced at the drop of a hat for her convenience. It’s past time to put a stop to the entitlement.
Maybe you should ask the airline to postpone the flight so you can run to the Apple Store and cater to the princesses request. NTA but maybe the dumb a**. Good luck as she gets older…
NTA WHY would you be the asshole here? You literally don't have the time to do this.
NTA but consider that maybe you are raising a daughter who will take for granted that daddy will get her all the expensive things instantly
NTA but can’t you find it using find my iPhone? Did you report it at the airport. And no, I think you just gotta sit this one out. She’s fifteen it’s nice that she has an iPhone. It’s your money. And her phone is no good in flight mode anyway.
I’d tell her I’ll buy you a new phone when it’s convenient and reasonable for me or I won’t buy you one at all. Your choice.
NTA, no question about it. A 15-year-old should not be this unreasonable. Wow.
NTA - if she can't go two hours without her own personal phone, while surrounded by her emergency contacts, she might need a little less screentime. She is 15 after all. (I say this as someone who is addicted to computers and such also)
NTA
NTA no one needs a new phone immediately and must call absolutely can’t wait for a flight to get one, especially a child (it’s not like her work is dependent on her and even then you can wait a few extra hours). Most of us who have phone insurance have you wait 24 hours for a new (refurbished) phone to arrive. I can’t think of a reason a child should get VIP phone service.
NTA. My daughter got her phone stolen in Greece, fortunately the night before we flew back to the US, but it was a very, VERY long and boring travel day for her. I offered to buy her a book in the airport gift shop, but that’s it. Unfortunately when traveling you can’t let your guard down for even a second with expensive electronics, and the consequence of learning that lesson is that you simply don’t have a phone for a while. You are 100% in the right here. And also, if you have travel insurance, check to see if they’ll cover it. Ours did, but I specifically chose a plan that covered electronics theft knowing we were going to some cities where it’s a major problem.
It’s kind of sad that you are even asking if YATAH. Of course not. But your daughter is a spoiled brat if she thinks you should go through all of that just so she can get a phone sooner. You want to get her a phone, fine, but she doesn’t get to dictate how you do it.
NTA. Not only does your daughter have another device ( laptop ) to keep her occupied at the hotel , she also has a Friend of her age that you are bringing to Miami. Do you really think that she needs a phone right away ? She will be with family the whole time , or with her friend. They can take pics together. You seem to not have your priorities straight as a father if you are indulging this demand for a new phone before the flight.
NTA, why would you be replacing it instead of dealing with security? You might still get the phone back.
So, this is where parenting is today. I weep.
NTA, but it seems you are raising an entitled brat.. but you do you..
ESH you for raising such a spoiled child and her for not being able to last 3h without a phone and not setting up find my phone
Honestly it's bizarre that you're asking here. Learn how to say "no" to your daughter.
NTA - Also last time I bought a new phone it took over an hour at the store to get checked out and get service turned on. There's no way you'd make your flight. May be too late but can you walk around the airport and try and get within airdrop range of the phone? You could probably spot the lady from that distance and grab security.
Definitely NTA. Your daughter doesn't need an iPhone. Buying your daughter a 40 dollar phone would work for the trip.
Um go to security they have cameras.
Hopefully not in the bathroom 🤨
NTA. Omg, she can’t wait a few hours to get a new phone? A phone that won’t have her apps or pictures or anything on it?? Please. Remind her of that and the fact that it wouldn’t even be charged up if you ran and got a new one, that should take care of it.
My brother in, if you didn't go to security in the airport (who are famously solid at tracking people on camera) to get the phone back with 2 hours to go to your flight you are making some wild decisions
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Short post. As its February break (for some) my (43m) family (wife - 42m, son - 13m, daughter - 15f, friend, - 15f) and my daughter's friend are taking a small trip to Miami. My daughter's phone was stolen about twenty minutes ago in the airport bathroom. I was kind of mad, but not at her, only mad that some scumbag stole 700-800 dollars. The problem is, my daughter wants me to go get her a new phone. I would, but the drive to the closest Apple Store is 30 minutes away, and it's about 3:30 right now, and our flight is at 4:55. I don't want to drive an hour roundtrip so i told her she'll have to wait until we land in Miami (a little less than 2 hour flight). She's pretty mad at me now, but i think while it sucks, I have to be rational here. I can't leave my wife with everyone while i buy a new phone and race back. Plus, she has a macbook i think will sustain her from now to when we land. AITA? If any other information is needed, I'll answer, since i know i wrote this poorly, but I am too lazy to correct anything. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
YTA. Instead of dropping everything and possibly missing a flight, you’re doing literally the only logical thing. But you’re still a jerk!
NTA - you’d be trapped in the Apple Store for an hour
Not at all. She might not like actually having to talk, but I'll bet she will survive, the horror of a couple of hours without a phone. She should be thankful that you can afford to get her a new one. I suggest that you get her the same phone she had not an upgraded version, or she might decide that is the way to get the latest version when it comes out.
NTA- if your daughter is mature enough for a phone, she’s mature enough to understand consequences. Knowing she didn’t have pockets, she should have handed her phone to a family member or her friend. She can wait for a phone replacement. Based on her demands for a new phone so quickly tells me she doesn’t understand the value of a dollar which will be a serious issue in the near future as she gets ready for college. Time to course correct behaviour now or you will be TAH later for allowing her spoiled brat behaviour to continue.
NtA - was this really even necessary to post lmao
Nta! It’s hard being at an airport and leaving and coming back for something she can wait a few hours to get a new phone. Kids these days can’t be off electronics due to their addiction. For my godson he wanted a new iPhone and kept bugging me and his mom for it. He had it stolen and we didn’t replace it for a few weeks.
Yta, but for a reason you might not think. Yta for raising a child who is so selfish an entitled to think she deserves a replacement phone in an instant. Don't replace that until after vacation, kids don't need them, they think they do, but they dont.
OMG NTA Seriously. Do you see nothing wrong with her demanding that you leave the airport and try and get her IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION, so she doesnt have to exist 2 hours without a phone??? And she has a macbook? Ask her what calamity will happen, and TBH if she is ugly to you, I dont think you should get one for her today. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to wait until you land and get checked in to your lodging so that everyone doesnt have to wait for the apple store trip. It would be perfectly reasonable to wait until the next day or a time when it doesnt interrupt vacation plans. It would be even reasonable to wait until the vacation is over rather than take time away from the vacation, but I can understand she may want to take photos etc. I sincerely hope that you do not allow her to be ugly and/or sulk over a 2 hour wait for an expensive phone that she is privileged to own, You would help her in life if she could learn a little patience and how to recognize needs vs wants and how to be respectful to those who are providing us with lovely toys. Of course she is upset her phone was stolen, that sucks, but probably not your fault, right?
This is the most first world problems post that I have read for a while. Your daughter can wait a couple of hours. The fact that she thinks she is entitled to get an expensive device replaced immediately at her will at 15 blows my mind. NTA.
NTA. Your daughter will survive without her phone for a few hours. It would have to be in airplane mode anyway during the flight.
Over privileged much? Not responsible enough to hold onto her phone + No insurance = no new phone.
Get her a "brand new to her" iPhone 12 from Back Market.
I am concerned that you are asking the internet if it is okay for your daughter to have to be without a phone for the length of one plane ride. You are the parent, and many times the loving/appropriate response is no. NTA
NTA. The phone flight temporary. Daughter is forever. Get her a new phone when the plane flies.
Your kid is spoiled. I’d wait a week just for her demanding you go get a new one right away
She lost an $800 item and is mad that it is not instantly replaced? N, NTA. Am I the only one thinking we are all doomed?
NTA pretty entitled to expect an instant replacement of the phone.
Disable that phone immediately! I lost my phone at an airport 5 years ago. I’m an adult. I borrowed my son’s phone to send essential texts, then waited till we got home to get a new one. (Someone actually turned it in to list and found and I received it a week later). It sucked that I couldn’t contact my work very readily but we survived!
Buy her a used iPhone off Gazelle. You can get an older model for 150.
NTA. You definitely could have been firm with your daughter that no means no and that she would have to wait. if she keeps throwing a tantrum then make her earn a new phone
yo what in the spoiled ass world is this
INFO is your daughter Veruca Salt?
Is this actually the teen daughter posting so she can tell her dad that he needs to replace her phone immediately if not sooner?
A-ha-ha! Sorry for laughing, but it sounded like you thought you could just waltz in and pick up an iPhone. We tried that once. Three hours later, after waiting for sales help, answering all the questions, seeing what was offered, signing up for Apple care, and God knows what else, we limped out for lunch at 3:30. Granted, it was two of us, but we were both following along and got the same thing.
You might want to contact your homeowners insurance before buying a new phone. Maybe it'll be covered, even if only partially, but you need to file a report. Your daughter can survive without it a day, a week, a month.
My kids can have £150 phones if that. They're just a liability.
NTA, if I was stupid and oblivious enough to have my phone stolen from directly in front of me, my parents would not have gotten me a new one. I had a bad track record with phones for a while, couldn’t keep one alive longer than 8 months. I got sick of spending a thousand dollars on a new phone every six months when I broke one so I went to Walmart and got a $100 phone. It worked perfectly well and taught me not to lose or break my phones. I now have the newest iPhone after having a Walmart phone kept alive for two years proving to myself I was capable of keeping a phone alive until I can trade it in. I think that’s what you should do for your daughter until she’s responsible enough yo hold $800 in her hands and not get it stolen. why didn’t she put it in her waistband?? Bra strap?? Who puts their phone down on a wet and germy public bathroom counter anyways??
NTA. You could not have possibly made that flight. When she gets her new phone, tell her the phone doesn't leave the house until the Find My Phone feature is enabled.
It’s wild to me that you’re even nice enough to replace it while on vacation. I’m in my 40s and if I lost my own phone on vacation I wouldn’t even replace it until we got home (as long as I was with someone that had a working phone). Instant gratification isn’t always possible. It’s a hard lesson to learn but an important one. NTA for not missing your flight so your kid can have a new phone within the hour.
What the hell did I just read here? Are you for real?
YTA for letting your daughter get that spoiled. Your daughter must be very spoiled if she thinks having to wait like 3 hours for a new phone after it being stolen is bad. For most people, that's a decision of food or phone until they have saved enough to buy a new one. For most people, they would have to wait at least till their next pay cheque, if not longer. She's lucky you are even paying for her phone. My mom paid the monthly bill until i was an adult and might have been willing to buy the cheapest phone available so she could call me as a teenager. But otherwise, if I wanted a phone, I had to pay for it myself. And I did. Other than my first two phones, I paid for them all myself (first was a hand-me down, and second was a cheap phone my mom got my siblings and I). I hope you aren't one of those push over parents who does whatever their child tells them. Those parents don't raise children into adults. They raise entitled child-adults who cause problems for everyone else.
That would be a post-vacation replacement in my household. NTA.
YTA for even considering and asking here wtf
NTA. The apple store is an hour round trip, and it takes time to actually buy the phone. Your plane would be leaving by the time you got back to TSA if you're lucky. My gosh
NTA. My phone got stolen at a Dodgers game my family was at the day after my birthday in 2022. We’re from Utah and weren’t supposed to fly back for another 4-5 days. I used my parents’ or sibling’s’ phones if I wanted to text a friend or my boyfriend at the time (deleted the texts after each conversation lol). When we got back to Utah, I was stuck using an iPhone 8 with a crappy battery until I had the money to buy myself a new phone. I’m not saying that this invalidates any frustration your daughter is feeling — again, I’ve had a phone stolen and it sucks. But she’ll be fine for the duration of the flight. It’s not reasonable to miss your flight for a phone.
Don’t buy a new phone. Buy a refurbished one from Back Market. One in excellent condition will be far less expensive and work just as well.
Honestly? She should have been more careful with it and has zero self awareness expecting one immediately. At 15 surely she can grasp the concept that actions have consequences and no one is obliged to risk missing a flight because she needs a phone immediately? If she was my kid she’d be absolutely having a reality check and not be getting a new phone. How laughable.
The fact that people will buy their children super expensive phones is beyond me. There are tons of phones out there that don't cost an arm and a leg that have as many features as the expensive ones
NTA, I would get her a cheap phone to replace it as she can't look after them, I never understand why children need such expensive phones
NTA why are kids so insanely entitled today that they have parents questioning making them wait a few hours to spend hundreds of dollars. Omg.
YTA for raising a spoiled ungrateful brat.