A woman has been likened to the Grinch for grounding her teenage daughter over Christmas because of a "distressing" prank.
The 14-year-old left her younger siblings extremely upset and in floods of tears after pretending she had flushed one of the possessions down the toilet, and the mum knew she had to step in.
To make matters worse, the young girl had videod their upset with the intention of putting it on TikTok.
After making her daughter delete the clip, she began thinking of a suitable punishment which would teach her the actions were wrong - however her decision to ground her for two months was later criticised by her family.
Taking to Reddit's 'Am I the a**hole' forum, the woman asked other parents if she had been too harsh.
She wrote: "I live with my husband of six years and our kids. I have my daughter Lily (F14) and my husband has his children Mia (F11) and Sean (M9). Our kids are from our previous marriages.
"Onto the story. For context, Mia and Sean for the longest time have always wanted a pet and always beg me and my husband for a dog or a cat. They are total animal lovers and they both want to be vets when they grow up.
"Unfortunately getting a pet is not something we can do at the moment. My husband has talked about it a few times and we may consider getting a small pet, such as rats or gerbils, in the future.
"For Christmas, my mother-in-law got Mia and Sean a sea monkeys kit each and they were over the moon and super excited waiting for them to hatch. They opened these gifts on Christmas Eve because my husband's family celebrates it then.
"On Christmas day, while I was at work (the joys of shift work), my husband said Lily poured the contents of the plastic tanks into the toilet and flushed it. Mia and Sean were heartbroken and wouldn't stop crying.
"It turns out that it was "a prank" and Lily was keeping the sea monkeys in another plastic tub in her room. She admitted she recorded Mia and Sean's reactions and was going to post it on TikTok. I made her delete the video.
"I honestly cannot comprehend why she'd do something like that, this is so out of character for Lily who's normally a very kind outgoing girl. I've asked her why she did it but she kept saying she just thought it would be funny, and didn't expect Mia and Sean to become so upset. She said they're only sea monkeys anyway and Mia and Sean are oversensitive."
The mum then explained that she 'thought about it for a little while', and then decided that there must be consequences for the teen.
She listed that the punishments would be: "grounded for two months except for school extracurriculars, no smartphone or allowance for 1 month, and Lily will use my spare Nokia to call or text us or other family members as needed. She can use the family computer if she needs the internet for homework or Lily has to write a sincere apology letter to Mia and Sean. No video games until it's done."
The mum admitted that it might seem over the top but Mia and Sean 'haven't been quite themselves' since the incident unfolded.
She continued: "Lily obviously wasn't happy about the consequences and is doing a teenage sulk and says I'm being unfair. She texted my dad and complained to him.
"My dad likes to take Lily out on shopping sprees and spoil her, and with her grounded that won't be allowed. He called me and asked what happened. I explained everything and he said I'm being too harsh on his grandbaby and that what she did was only minor and I'm overreacting.
"I told him if he wants to see Lily he's welcome to come over but no spoiling her with gifts like he usually does. He called me a Grinch for grounding my daughter on Christmas and not letting him treat her, then ended the call."
In the comments, many backed the mum's decision to show her that bullying will not be tolerated and that there are consequences when you're mean.
One wrote: "What she did was not minor. She faked animal cruelty in order to cause psychological damage to children who are younger than her, because - checks notes - she thought it would be funny??? You are sending a clear message to her that bullying will not be tolerated. Not the a**hole."
"She shouldn't be on social media until she realises how horrible this behavior is", another agreed.
"*Because she thought it would get her likes and views on TikTok", someone else suggested.
A fourth Reddit user suggested that if it was out of character for her daughter, she may be consuming the wrong sort of content online, writing: "If this is out of character for her, she got the idea from somewhere.
"I think the original poster can cut her some slack if she recognises what she did was wrong, but until then, keeping her off TikTok is really important."
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
