One woman's parenting dilemma, involving an upsetting "prank" that her son played on their housekeeper, has sparked an intense conversation on social media.
The anonymous mom shared her story in Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum, where it's received more than 14,000 upvotes and 1,900 comments by publication time.
According to the woman, known as u/number64745834, her 16-year-old son, "Jeremy," is "a jokester" who "likes pulling pranks on everyone in the house"—including the family's housekeeper.
"He did stuff like throw her purse, hide her wallet," she wrote, adding that he "got punished for it ... because [the housekeeper] almost quit."
Recently, the teen's antics continued. Jeremy was having friends over when he called his mom, saying that he saw the housekeeper "sneak" a piece of the Redditor's jewelry into her purse.
"I went home .... She denied putting anything in her purse," wrote the woman. "I demanded to see her purse and my jewelry was there."
The housekeeper "started swearing on her children that she didn't put it in there and had no idea how it got there." Remembering Jeremy's past behavior, the woman chose to believe the housekeeper.
"I switched my attention towards him and had him explain to me exactly how he saw our [housekeeper] do it," she said. Jeremy maintained his claim, until his friend spoke up, saying that "he saw Jeremy put the jewelry inside the lady's purse and was trying to get her in trouble."
"Jeremy yelled at his friend then told me it was just one of his pranks but I was furious," the mom said. "I kicked the rest of his friends who covered for him out and I punished him hard and apologized to the [housekeeper]."
The saga, however, didn't end there.
"My husband reacted [unexpectedly] after he heard," she wrote. "He said that I was wrong for choosing to believe the [housekeeper] over our son even though there was a witness ..."
Moreover, her husband believed that Jeremy's friend "must've said this to get him in trouble" and that the housekeeper likely "paid him" to take her side. "He said I was not being a good mother and my first instinct is to always believe my son ... [and] never ever question him [in front] of his friends like that," she concluded.
Viewers expressed a range of emotions in response to the clip, including anger at Jeremy, sympathy for the housekeeper, and frustration at the woman's husband.
"Your son doesn't pull pranks," wrote u/mel122676 in a top-voted comment. "He is a mean bully."
"And the dad is enabling it," added u/EmpressJainaSolo.
"Your housekeeper needs to straight up quit," said u/genus-corvidae. "You've allowed her to be bullied and abused by your son, who your husband is deliberately turning into a spoiled and entitled brat."
Some even felt that Jeremy's behavior indicated that further intervention is necessary.
"This kid needs therapy," commented u/IPetdogs4U. "He shouldn't be allowed in the house while the housekeeper is there."
According to VeryWell Family, when a child is caught bullying, it is "imperative" to address the issue immediately.
"Although you do not have to list the consequences immediately, you do need to talk to your child about their actions," noted the publication, adding that it is also essential to "determine the root cause" of the behavior.
Newsweek has reached out to u/number64745834 for additional comment.
