Childhood toy--can I ask for it back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, ask for it back.

Or just take it, like she did, without asking. If it were my sister, this is how I would have to handle it, because my sister's sort of a jerk and thinks everything belongs to her.

Take it like she did without asking whom?

Presumably, it's the parents who get asked -- not the siblings.

It would never occur to me to ask my brother's permission to remove objects from my parent's attic. Especially old toys.

Taking an object from an adult sibling's home, however -- that would be stealing.

Then you're a jerk. If you take something from your parents house that you knew darn well belonged to your sibling then it's stealing just the same as if you took it from the siblings house. And taking something that belongs to you from your siblings house isn't stealing, it's taking back what belongs to you.

Ew, no. You don't just steal a toy from your sibling's house. There's something wrong with you if you would do that.

PP is right, you don't need to ask your sibling's permission to take an old toy from your parents' house. Plus, since OP's sister is 5 years older than her, it very well could've been the sister's cherished toy first, before becoming a hand-me-down for OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, ask for it back.

Or just take it, like she did, without asking. If it were my sister, this is how I would have to handle it, because my sister's sort of a jerk and thinks everything belongs to her.

Take it like she did without asking whom?

Presumably, it's the parents who get asked -- not the siblings.

It would never occur to me to ask my brother's permission to remove objects from my parent's attic. Especially old toys.

Taking an object from an adult sibling's home, however -- that would be stealing.

Then you're a jerk. If you take something from your parents house that you knew darn well belonged to your sibling then it's stealing just the same as if you took it from the siblings house. And taking something that belongs to you from your siblings house isn't stealing, it's taking back what belongs to you.

But OP's sister doesn't "know darn well" it belonged to her sibling. We have very unclear ownership here. All we have is OP saying she cherished the toy. It IS entirely possibly to have a toy that is cherished by more than one child. In fact, the very fact that this toy showed up in the sister's house may be evidence that the sister cherishes it too -- not evidence that she's trying to somehow just be a jerk.

All OP knows is that the toy is in her sister's home. She can't assign nefarious motives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, ask for it back.

Or just take it, like she did, without asking. If it were my sister, this is how I would have to handle it, because my sister's sort of a jerk and thinks everything belongs to her.

Take it like she did without asking whom?

Presumably, it's the parents who get asked -- not the siblings.

It would never occur to me to ask my brother's permission to remove objects from my parent's attic. Especially old toys.

Taking an object from an adult sibling's home, however -- that would be stealing.

Then you're a jerk. If you take something from your parents house that you knew darn well belonged to your sibling then it's stealing just the same as if you took it from the siblings house. And taking something that belongs to you from your siblings house isn't stealing, it's taking back what belongs to you.

Ew, no. You don't just steal a toy from your sibling's house. There's something wrong with you if you would do that.

PP is right, you don't need to ask your sibling's permission to take an old toy from your parents' house. Plus, since OP's sister is 5 years older than her, it very well could've been the sister's cherished toy first, before becoming a hand-me-down for OP.

No, it was mine originally and a Christmas gift, not a hand-me-down. (It's a toy originated when I was a kid and my sister was a tween, so you can definitely tell by when it was made who it would have originally owned it.) I don't think my sister took it from my parents house with any malicious intent, and I certainly wouldn't take it surreptitiously out of her house. That feels wrong and would be just weird.

Ebay's a good suggestion. There's something about the item that belonged to you, so if I can find a duplicate I may ask for it back and that way her kids wouldn't notice the difference.

[Anonymous]

Why didn't you say anything when you noticed it? It's weird that you didn't mention it at all if it was your fav childhood toy.

[Anonymous]

Of course you can ask for it back! It was your and your sister should have asked before she took it from your parents house. Unless her kids are super attached to it, she should send it to you. Why didn't you bring it up when you saw it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, ask for it back.

Or just take it, like she did, without asking. If it were my sister, this is how I would have to handle it, because my sister's sort of a jerk and thinks everything belongs to her.

Take it like she did without asking whom?

Presumably, it's the parents who get asked -- not the siblings.

It would never occur to me to ask my brother's permission to remove objects from my parent's attic. Especially old toys.

Taking an object from an adult sibling's home, however -- that would be stealing.

Then you're a jerk. If you take something from your parents house that you knew darn well belonged to your sibling then it's stealing just the same as if you took it from the siblings house. And taking something that belongs to you from your siblings house isn't stealing, it's taking back what belongs to you.

You are so very, very wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course you can ask for it back! It was your and your sister should have asked before she took it from your parents house. Unless her kids are super attached to it, she should send it to you. Why didn't you bring it up when you saw it?

+1. She knew it was your favorite toy. I knew which toys were mine and which were my siblings. If she doesn't give it back to you, she's a jerk.

[Anonymous]

OP; quick tangent here, what is the toy?

Mine was a beloved little bean bag dog I named "Puppy."

[Anonymous]

I'd probably say, Hey Dick... this is mine... and take it.

[Anonymous]

This is a good reminder to people who have things stashed at their parents house even though they have homes of their own. I had a lovely glass blown pair of peacocks a high school friend of mine had given me in my parents china cabinet. My mom, in her eighties, has started giving away some possessions to people who admire them. I told my mom I would be taking the peacocks home and she said ok and seemed surprised. I told her they were mine and who gave them to me and when. She had forgotten and thought they were given to her. You can't expect your parents to recall what was whose. You need to speak up and claim what belonged to you in your parent's home.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible she took it because at the time you were both adults and she was the only one with kids of the right age to play with it?

[Anonymous]

I really can't understand why you can't say, "Hey sis, I noticed you had Mr. Floppy Ears. You may not remember, but I got him for X-mas and loved him to death. I really want him back so I can share him with my kids." What would be the terrible harm in saying that? What are you afraid is going to happen? I have no idea why you can't just be honest and straightforward with your sister on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible she took it because at the time you were both adults and she was the only one with kids of the right age to play with it?

Why didn't sis mentioned this to OP? "Hey, I found Ms. Floppy Ears at mom and dad's and thought my kids would love to play with it. I know she was your old favorite--would you mind if they had it or do you want it back?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible she took it because at the time you were both adults and she was the only one with kids of the right age to play with it?

Why didn't sis mentioned this to OP? "Hey, I found Ms. Floppy Ears at mom and dad's and thought my kids would love to play with it. I know she was your old favorite--would you mind if they had it or do you want it back?"

Probably because Floppy Ears was sitting around in a dusty old box for years and she figured op didn't give a damn or she would have taken it home herself. Why does everyone on this board assume the worst about everyone else--especially family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible she took it because at the time you were both adults and she was the only one with kids of the right age to play with it?

Why didn't sis mentioned this to OP? "Hey, I found Ms. Floppy Ears at mom and dad's and thought my kids would love to play with it. I know she was your old favorite--would you mind if they had it or do you want it back?"

Probably because Floppy Ears was sitting around in a dusty old box for years and she figured op didn't give a damn or she would have taken it home herself. Why does everyone on this board assume the worst about everyone else--especially family?

I didn't care about stuff until I had kids. If my sister grabbed them first because she had kids first, well, that's not fair. But I also didn't know I would want things. So what to do?