Internet Backs Expectant Mom Gifted 'Disturbing Picture' She Drew at 5

A pregnant woman was recently gifted a "disturbing picture" that she drew at the age of 5 showing her mother dead, garnering a lot of support for being uncomfortable about it.

The now-viral Reddit post, which has 7,600 upvotes, was posted to the subreddit "Am I The A**hole" on February 12 by u/Sea-Refridgerator2986. It's titled, "AITA for being weirded out by my mother's 'pregnancy gift' for me?"

The original poster (OP) revealed she is 20 weeks pregnant with her first child. Her mother recently gifted her an old picture she drew when she was about 5. "It's a disturbing picture honestly," she said.

The OP continued: "I don't remember drawing it, but my mom used to tell me all of the time that one time I got upset with her, and I went in my room and drew a picture of her where she was supposed to be deceased and I wrote, 'I wish this was mommy' under the stick figure that was supposed to represent her."

The Redditor said it's "very disturbing," saying she doesn't remember even doing it, but she feels bad "for the absolute menace my five-year-old self was."

According to the ABC Learning Center, art can be used as a physiological analysis when it comes to a child's drawings. Oftentimes, any concerns from parents aren't necessary as children draw "odd things" sometimes. Kids drawing things that could be considered violent isn't totally out of the norm, although it is essential to talk to them about their drawings. Drawings of violence could correlate from watching an abundance of television or video games.

The OP's mom gave her the picture after keeping it for over 20 years, telling her it was supposed to prepare her for "what to expect." The Redditor didn't want the picture, saying it disturbed her, so she told her mom that she thought she should keep it since she's had it this long. But her mom asked why.

The OP added: "I explained that it made me uncomfortable, and she said, 'Well don't you think I was uncomfortable too? I held onto this all these years so you could have it and see what it's going to be like.'"

The Redditor revealed she felt "so uncomfortable" about the situation, and didn't appreciate it. She ended up storing the drawing away, showing her husband first who was "a little weirded out" that her mom gave it to her.

Over a thousand commenters have weighed in on the situation, and people are in full support of the woman's plight, and they believe her mom's behavior was out of line.

One Redditor, who believed the OP wasn't the a**hole in the situation, brought up that the mom was basically saying that their daughter hurt her when drawing that picture, so she saved it for years to hurt her.

"As though the meanness of an angry little kid is in any way equal to the calculated hatred it must have taken for a grown-a** adult to save up that much hate for two decades so she could hurt you too," they added. "NTA, and maybe your mom isn't toxic, but this sure makes her look that way." The comment received over 18,000 upvotes on its own.

While another user thought the drawing should have been thrown out a long time ago. "NTA [not the a**hole]," they said. "Your mum sounds like she holds a ridiculous grudge over this picture. You were five."

The OP responded saying their mother has a history of bringing up events from the past. "I've tried to tell her it feels like she holds grudges, and she swears that's not what it is...but it is I think," they added.

One Redditor thought the OP's mom is "an absurdly petty person," holding resentment over a drawing done by a child over 20 years ago. "Anyone who's worked with children knows that kids do this kind of thing all the time because they don't know how to express their emotions and don't actually understand the finality of death," they said. "And a sane person would dismiss it instead of keeping it for 20 years... ."

Another person thought what the OP did was normal, reasoning she was a child, and she had feelings that she needed to express. "What's not normal is an adult, holding a grudge against their child for years, keeping a picture and then using it against their now-adult child," the user expressed. "Your mom is a child, while you've apparently grown up."

Some people had advice on what to do with the picture now. One Redditor admitted they "would pay for a commission and have it drawn as realistically as possible, frame it and gift it to them for Mother's Day."

One person, who felt the OP isn't the a**hole, thought she should throw out the picture, saying their mom "is being weird and inappropriate. Kids can be mean, but it's never on purpose. What your mom did is intentionally malicious."

Newsweek reached out to u/Sea-Refridgerator2986 for comment.