Parents Dilemma: AITA for Refusing to Pay for Childs Laptop Mishap?

AITA for not reimbursing coworker after my child interfered with her work laptop, causing a major setback and financial loss?

Stephanie

Published in Interesting
5 May 2026

Parents Dilemma: AITA for Refusing to Pay for Childs Laptop Mishap?

A 38-year-old project manager refused to pay for her 6-year-old son’s laptop “oops,” and now her workplace is basically split into two camps. One side thinks she should reimburse her coworker for the deleted code and recovery costs, the other side thinks she’s getting blamed for a kid being a kid during a meeting she couldn’t pause.

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The whole mess started when she was in a virtual call from home, her coworker Sarah was locked into a crucial project, and her son was quietly roaming the room. She noticed him messing with Sarah’s work laptop, but she couldn’t stop it in time. Afterward, Sarah said her code got wiped and asked for more than $500 to cover lost work hours and data recovery.

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Now OP is wondering if she’s the villain for refusing, or if Sarah is expecting her to pay for a security failure that should have been handled differently.

Original Post

So I'm (38F) a project manager at a tech firm, and we're currently working from home due to the pandemic. Last week, I had to attend a virtual meeting, and my son (6M) was playing around in the room while I was occupied.

For context, my coworker 'Sarah' (29F) is our lead developer, and she's been extremely focused on a crucial project. During the meeting, I noticed my son sneakily playing with Sarah's work laptop, but I couldn't intervene immediately.

Later, Sarah informed me that my child had accidentally deleted a significant portion of her code due to this unauthorized access. Sarah requested reimbursement for the lost work hours and data recovery expenses, which amount to over $500.

I feel terrible about the incident, but I believe that as a remote worker, the security of one's work equipment rests on the individual. I've apologized sincerely, but I declined to pay for the damages, stating that it was an unfortunate accident.

Sarah, however, insists that I'm responsible for my son's actions and should cover the costs. Now, tensions are rising at work, and other team members are taking sides.

Sarah feels betrayed by my refusal, and my supervisors are concerned about the disruption in our team dynamics. I'm torn between feeling responsible as a parent and defending my stance on personal accountability.