AITA for having friendships with younger coworkers?

I (26F) still think about a situation from when I was 19–20. I worked at a pizza shop through COVID. It was a fun workplace with a mix of adults and teenagers. My best friend worked there too, and everyone joked around to make shifts more enjoyable. I was outgoing and talked to everyone.

Two girls "Tay and Mai" (16–17) treated me and my best friend like older sisters. There was also a 15-year-old coworker, "Matt," who grew up near me and knew my autistic brother. We talked about memories of our neighborhood and the daycare. My brother later worked there too, and I made sure nobody bullied him like they had growing up.

The workplace felt like a family. We had a snow ball fights in the parking lot, placed bets on hockey games, drew on pizza boxes, played hangman on the whiteboard, we joked around a lot. We would do competitions to see who could make the most symmetrical cuts on the pizza's.(I love to gamify to get things done). I also had a boyfriend(24) and never hung out with coworkers outside work except my best friend and one older coworker who would smoke weed with us(lol). I grew up with multiple siblings so this dynamic is familiar to me. it was easy to talk to them and want the best for them.

I was making pizza's on the line when another coworker joked that I was too busy "flirting with Matt" I was shocked because I genuinely saw him as a kid. I knew some younger coworkers had crushes on me, but I never encouraged it. When a couple secretly added themselves to my phone, I removed them immediately.

The biggest mistake I made was buying Matt a birthday cupcake while I was already buying cupcakes for my family. I occasionally grabbed Starbucks for Tay and Mai because we often picked drinks up for each other before shifts, so I didn't think it was weird. At the time I viewed them like younger siblings, but looking back I understand how those gestures could be perceived differently.

After the comment and the cupcake I got in my head and felt like a horrible person. I realized I had become too friendly with the younger coworkers. I didn't have bad intentions, but intentions aren't everything. As I've gotten older, I've changed how I interact with younger coworkers. I don't joke but I am kind and approachable without getting personal.

I returned to that job when I would visit home as a delivery driver, I intentionally kept interactions with the younger employees brief and surface-level because I felt ashamed of how I'd acted before. I don't work there anymore.

I corrected my behavior once I realized the issue. I always want to treat kids normally and open conversations to make them feel included at work, but as the adult coworker I should have had better boundaries and made the line clear that we are coworkers not friends. So, AITA for becoming too friendly with younger coworkers?

AITA for becoming too friendly with my younger coworkers?