There's a thin line between funny and cruel.
Some people take pranks way too far. And, trust me, making someone cry is not funny.
Just stick to the prank classics like putting someone's hand in warm water while they sleep so they pee.
Redditor ComprehensiveSpare55 encountered this very issue with her daughter. So she turned to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subReddit for moral judgment.
She asked:
"AITA for confiscating my daughter's phone over a TikTok prank?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"Long story short, my daughter (15F) and a friend decided to play a very cruel prank on the friend's 8-year old sister."
"Basically my daughter hid in her closet filming for TikTok while the friend called the sister in and pretended to cry and told her that she had gotten news that their parents had just been killed in a car accident...getting the reaction and then telling her it's not true."
"Needless to say the friend's sister did not take it well even after being told of the truth and the parents contacted me."
OP did not find it funny.
"I was absolutely disgusted especially considering the intention was to humiliate her on TikTok."
"So in addition to grounding her I took her phone away and replaced it with an old one of mine that I locked down so it can't do anything besides make/receive phone calls, take pictures and send texts, basically equivalent to an old style flip phone."
"That happened about a month ago. My daughter's grounding recently expired and she asked me when she gets her phone back. I told her 'When you can afford to buy your own.'"
"Since her phone was what she used for it, I don't see any reason why she should be allowed to one able to access such apps."
OP's daughter was not happy.
"She complained to my husband. He told me that he agrees she shouldn't get the phone back now but that I'm maybe being a bit too harsh since confiscating it until the end of the school year for example would still send the needed message."
"So I told my daughter I'll consider it based on her behavior but she's still banned from TikTok regardless."
"Well she threw another tantrum."
"Truth is I'm just so disgusted she would do such a thing, and such abuse of an app means you don't get the app anymore and it seems fair. Now she's giving me the silent treatment. Obviously this won't help in getting the phone back."
"So am I being too harsh or unreasonable?"
"I get how important such phones and apps are now to teens' social lives, but I really can't let something like that go unaddressed."
Redditors gave their opinions on the situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Most Redditors agreed OP was not the a**hole.
"NTA. The prank was terrible to begin with, but pulling that on an 8 year old is horrific. You should get your daughter into therapy to help understand why she thought that would be funny." ~ pbc85
"Right? My sister's 9 years older than me (and I'm a grown ass adult in my late 20's with a kid of my own) and I wouldn't DREAM of pulling this "prank" on her." ~ potentialsmbc2023
Many shared the pranks they've suffered through.
"My mum pulled this prank on me."
"When I was 16 she called me up and said her and my sister were wheelchair bound when it was just a lie." ~ unbanneda**holeacc
"What the f*ck?!" ~ lisalost7
"Oh yeah my mom messed me up big time."
"She does so much f*cked up sh*t."
"She's a doctor that worked in the offshore dentition camps in Australia. Horrible things happened there."
"I have crazy validation issues to this day because of her, been trying to work at it in therapy for along time."
"She's the mil in hell."
"When I was 13 she hacked my social media (bebo not Facebook) and sexted my GF at the time to be nosy and try find out what I was up too. (And that's so over the line you would go to jail for it these days)."
"I have endless stories." ~ unbannedassholeacc
These pranks are so cruel.
"My grandma called my mom one day to tell her she had cancer. My mom was 16 at the time and dropped out of school & moved from Whitehorse to Vancouver to care for her supposedly dying mother. However, it was a complete fabrication and my mom never ended up graduating high school."
"I do not understand how anyone can do these things to anyone else, but especially a parent to their kid is an extra level." ~ fragilemagnoliax
"My sisters (they are 6 and 2 years older than me) had me convinced from the time I was 6 till I was 9 that I was adopted, not only did they have me convinced, but all the kids in the neighborhood were convinced and adults at our dance school were convinced."
"It only came out because an adult at our dance school who met my mom right after I was born, said she thought I was my moms bio kid and didn't know I was adopted, and my mom was like, 'because she's not adopted!'"
"I literally didn't hug my parents for two years during that time and my family wonders why I don't trust them now!" ~ tink630
"Oh God, that's horrible! Did they get punished? Did you get therapy? Holy crap...."
"Like.. my grandma used to make us (me and cousins when we spent holidays with her without our parents) believe that if we have nightmares and run to her at night she will have to call a doctor and he would have us admitted to psychiatry ward until we grow up."
"This led to many long terrified nights, and more nightmares."
"Or that if we do something (eat more sweets? Not brush teeth? Really silly things) our mother or father would drop dead. She'd accompany this with a 'story of her friend who did that and his mommy died, the funeral was so sad.'"
"We were 4-7 without phones, so there was no 'oh sh*t I ate an extra candy, I'll call mom to see if she's ok' we'd wait all day for parents to call the landlines, absolutely terrified."
"Great nightmare stuff." ~ KnittingforHouselves
OP added an update.
"Wow! Lots of feedback, thanks everyone!"
"Just to give an update, I've decided against requiring therapy for her, but I will be trying to talk to her directly as soon as possible about it and to address things."
"Lots of good advice and resources have been sent to me, so thank you everyone!"
"I am thinking that while she definitely deserved punishment I did focus too much on the punishment end instead of getting her to realize wrongs and make amends, so that'll be my new focus. Once again thanks for everything!"
These pranks aren't funny. Making her daughter realize why they're cruel and shouldn't be done was more important than punishment in the end.
Expectant Dad Of Two Livid After Brother Questions Why He'd Bring Another Kid Into Bleak World
It's no secret that a lot of people are struggling right now, from the cost of living to job insecurity to food insecurity to poor housing. But that doesn't mean we have to stop living.
For many people, that means still starting and growing their families, while planning how to navigate the world we're currently in, pointed out the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor DesignerOwn1141 and his wife knew that the world around them wasn't at its best right now, but they were eager to grow their family and were excited to bring a third child into the world.
When they announced their pregnancy, his brother's first reaction was to send him articles about how the world was doomed and shame him for bringing a child into it; the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he needed to block his own brother.
He asked the sub:
The OP and his wife were excited to welcome a third child into their family.
"I am 33 and male. My wife is 29."
"We have two sons, a six-year-old boy and a three-year-old boy. Both are happy, healthy, and well taken care of."
"We love being parents to them, and I work very hard to provide a good life for my family."
"My wife is four months pregnant with our third."
The OP's brother's life was very different from his.
"My younger brother has been something of a failure-to-launch case."
"Despite having every advantage, he never got good grades in school, was addicted to 'League of Legends' so severely that he barely scraped by, and spends his days streaming games to nearly no viewers on Twitch."
"I've watched his stream a few times, but he just rages constantly."
"My wife is too classy to ever say so, but I can tell he makes her uncomfortable."
"He's my brother, so I've long wanted to believe he's just bad at communicating with people, but to be frank, he's sort of just an a**hole. He's unapologetic whenever he says something hurtful and more likely to just double down and say, 'No cap.'"
"But if anyone so much as challenges his views, he throws a huge fit."
The OP tried to share his happy news with his brother, but his brother immediately squandered it.
"Recently, we announced she was pregnant with our third child. It's a joyous occasion for us because we wanted three children, and our other two sons are excited about having another brother or sister."
"When I texted my brother the news, he immediately said he couldn't imagine having children with the world the way it was."
"I asked what he meant, and he started sending me these articles about global warming, the plague in Russia, wars around the world, and so on."
"He seems convinced that the world is going to end in ten years tops, and that I'm only bringing up another child to die in the 'water wars.'"
"I was honestly disgusted with him. To tell someone that their unborn child is going to die, that their other children are going to die, is absolutely abhorrent behavior."
"But since he's always been a sensitive s**thead, I just said, 'Whatever, man,' and stopped reading his texts."
"He wouldn't stop. He kept sending me every doomer article. He said that when the clouds evaporate, the earth is going to get 15 degrees hotter. He said that AI is going to hack every government database. He said that China is going to invade Taiwan, and then it'll be war with the US and allies against Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran."
The OP had had enough of his brother's negative feedback.
"Finally, I just told him I was blocking him and thought little of the decision."
"He went and cried to our parents (again, he's the most sensitive s**tbag in the world), and they told me what I did was over the top."
"I know that if I unblock him, he's just going to doomspam me again."
"Am I wrong for just straight-up saying I never want him in my life again?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that they understood why he felt the need to distance himself from his brother.
"NOR. He sounds insufferable."
"He sounds like one of those people who doesn't like his life and so wants everyone else to be miserable too, or makes excuses for why he didn't do more with his life by blaming his problems on some external crisis." - savingrain
"NOR. He's allowed to protect his peace, especially if his brother keeps ignoring boundaries and turning every conversation into another end-of-the-world prediction, and having kids is hardly a reason to apologize for trying to build a good life despite everything going on." - Upper-Cloud9097
"NOR. But your brother is on his way to a full mental breakdown. Send him back cute dog and cat videos. Cute horse videos. Ozzy animal voiceovers."
"Eventually his phone will start thinking he's like me and his feed will calm down." - Present_Original_797
"I mean, my beliefs and thoughts about the future are along the same lines as him, and that’s why I’m an anti-natalist, but there’s something called tact. And personal choice/autonomy."
"If someone chooses to have kids, that’s their choice, and I’d keep my opinions to myself and be supportive, especially if they’re a family member. Spreading doomer content is extremely insensitive and rude. NOR." - EngineerGold4242
"NOR: I wonder whether your brother is displaying sibling jealousy towards you and your family; he recognizes his own shortcomings and can see where he is in life compared to you, and that is his major issue."
"Days filled with unfulfilling computer games and doomspamming others, he has a lot of maturing to do. Block him until or unless he decides to join the adult world and be the uncle he is supposed to be." - iron_redditman
"NOR. I have all those fears and as such actively avoid news about them. I skipped whole paragraphs here for that reason too, lol."
"I’d definitely block my sibling or anybody else who did that to me. I already know all these things; I don’t need constant reminders. All I can do is work on improving my little corner of the world and trudge forward."
"Anyway, protect your peace." - hahagato
"You are not obligated to bond with someone just because you share blood. It’s your peace and your family that you need to protect now. If you decide to go zero contact, it’s perfectly okay!"
"Especially because you and your wife are in charge of two, almost three, little guys, and your mental peace affect directly to them."
"PS. Historically, the world has always been on the edge, but nothing stops us to be what we are, humans trying to get over all the s**t! So don’t let those bad things put you down. We can build a better world by raising kind, lovely people, and it seems you and your wife are doing it. Good luck!" - Camigatoespinace92
Others advised the OP to involve his parents in case they could help his brother.
"Unblock him and then send everything he texts you to both mom and dad. No comments, just forward it."
"They'll think you're sending it, and when they complain, you can tell them that you thought they'd be interested in your brother's articles as well."
"NOR." - No_Address687
"NOR. Your parents don't know the half of it. Forward everything and let them read it for themselves." - Available_Agent3305
"NOR. I’d keep him blocked; your parents are wrong. If you want to be petty, start sending your parents article after article of stuff you know they won’t like. They will get the hint soon enough." - OldieButNotMoldy
"I would also go low contact with the OP's parents. OP is clearly NOT the favorite son. Any boundaries he put up with his brother will be considered wrong. NOR." - Interesting_Novel997
"NOR, but also my first reaction is that your brother isn't a 'sensitive s**tbag,' he is struggling with anxiety/depression and maybe undiagnosed neurodivergence and is drowning in his own ruminations. None of that makes this an appropriate response to a pregnancy announcement; it's clearly not. But he sounds like someone who is clearly struggling here."
"If it were me, I'd be sending your parents anything he previously sent you. If they share your concern after reading a few articles, maybe they'll take steps to help him." - 2kidsnomoney---
"NOR. I'm sorry to say this, OP, but your brother has not been socialized normally. He is a chronically online loser who thinks he can do and say whatever he wants and does not understand there are no consequences because there are often no consequences when he does it in a league match or online."
"It frankly sounds like your concern for him and his future is budding into resentment and contempt, and I feel like, as most brothers would, those are not the feelings you want to hold towards him."
"I have a brother like this. He was diagnosed as an adult with Asperger’s and now just a spectrum autism diagnosis, but he’s a real a**."
"You may have to unblock him to communicate fairly. It may be worth doing this in person because it’s easier for the chronically online to 'craft' their retort rather than be a part of a conversation."
"Before you can do that, though, you need to sit down with your parents. You need to explain and be able to articulate that:"
"1. His reaction to the wonderful news of you having another child crossed the line and was inappropriate."
"2. There need to be reasonable consequences or boundaries because you are no longer willing to put up with that."
"3. It is his call at this point whether or not he wants to be in your life and your children’s lives."
"You have to have their buy-in; otherwise they are just going to continue to coddle and enable this behavior."
"Then you need to sit down with him and your parents, intervention style. You need to present the same argument you did to your parents, and in all honestly, I would question him in return: what was he hoping would have been the outcome of that conversation?"
"Did he want you to say he’s so right, so smart? Did he want you to go to your wife and tell her to abort? Does he feel like he is in a place in his life where he can be your family planner and manager? When he crosses a line, what does he feel should happen?"
"Only when he is directly confronted, and you have the right supports in place, can he be presented with how his behavior affected you and what that could possibly mean for his relationship with you and your growing family." - allison_mossie
The subreddit understood feeling burdened by so much negative information during what should be a happy time of planning and anticipating a new addition to the family, but the OP needed time to think about what he wanted his larger family dynamic to look like.
That might mean removing his brother, so that the OP could protect his own, and by extension, his wife's and children's, mental health, but it might mean minimizing contact with other people, too, if they weren't willing to respect the OP's boundaries he had for his family's life.