'Vile': Daughter Lying To Friends About Having Abusive Parents Sparks Fury

A concerned mom of three has turned to social media for support after discovering her teenage daughter has been falsely claiming to friends that her parents are abusive.

Child abuse is not something to be taken lightly, with the CDC estimating that at least 1 in every 7 children in the U.S. has experienced abuse or neglect in the last 12 months. Worse still, that figure is thought to be underestimated given the number of cases that likely go unreported.

With both authorities and wider communities as a whole under increasing pressure to identify abuse of this kind, any false accusations, while rare, are not only damaging to those involved but can also eat up resources.

Though the situation detailed in the post shared to Mumsnet by one worried mother hasn't reached the stage where someone has intervened, it nevertheless makes for a troubling case study—especially as the teenage girl involved has openly admitted she made up her claims.

According to the post shared by the girl's mom, the 15-year-old has been telling friends her parents are "horrible" and that her mother often withholds food from her, confines her to her room and is "homophobic."

The girl's mom overheard her daughter making the claims during a late night online chat with friends on Discord, an online platform that facilitates video and voice calls.

When the mom confronted her daughter over what she heard, her daughter explained many of her friends have "horrible parents" and she "didn't feel like she fit in" so she "created these characters."

The mom said that for several months she had overheard her daughter describing both her and her husband as "losers" who "don't understand" her in online chats with her friends.

However, things took a far more sinister turn when she recently heard her daughter, telling her friends: "I swear, as soon as I can get away from these abusive f***s, I'm packing my bags and I'm gone."

She then listened as her daughter, responding to one story from a friend who said she was "fat shamed" by her mom, claimed her mother "weighs" her food and only lets her have "800 calories a day" if she is good.

One friend in response asked: "Is that c*** still locking you in?" with another branding her mom a "homophobic b****." Her father, meanwhile, was characterized as "a dad who couldn't care less" during the chat.

The mom wrote that she "couldn't believe" what she was hearing, explaining that her daughter has a "neurological condition" and she is her carer but she has never controlled her diet, confined her to her room or acted "homophobic" when she began dating a girl.

When she finally confronted her over what was heard, her daughter "flipped" out and accused her mom of "policing" her conversations. She told her she made them the "exact opposites" of her real parents so they were "easy to remember."

Her mom desperately tried to explain that the claims were both "dangerous" and "hurtful"

"What if these kids go and tell their (quite probably normal) parents and they rightly raise concerns officially about this poor abused child?" she wrote. "Doesn't matter if nothing comes of it- mud sticks!"

Her daughter, however, didn't believe she had done anything "bad" and instead stormed off while ranting about "free speech."

People on social media were quick to side with the worried mom.

TeeBee branded the remarks "utterly vile and hurtful" and urged the mother to try and explain to her daughter just how serious a matter it is. "She needs to understand that telling lies like this has not only injured herself but she has really hurt you badly and soiled your reputation with others," she said.

FemFemlicious, meanwhile, acknowledged that while her daughter's actions were "horrible" the mom was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to dealing with the issue. "If you take her phone and internet she is going to become a nightmare," she explained.

Georgeskitchen, meanwhile, tried to downplay the dispute, describing the girl's actions as "normal teenage behavior." "The parents are the enemies, wanting to ruin their lives. Certainly was in my case," they said. "Takes a few years but they usually revert back to the nice person they used to be."

However others, like Crimesean felt it would be wrong to just "let this go" though. "She should learn that lies have consequences - take away her internet access/phone until she's shown she's mature enough to have them," they said. "Or tell her she's got to correct her lies to her friends."

Notimeforaname agreed that action was required and that to let things lie could have dire consequences for her daughter's future. "Sure most kids tell little white lies to fit in but this is going way too far. She needs to come clean and be punished," they said. "What kind of adult will she grow Into if she's allowed to say she's abused just to get attention and friends??"

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.