Teen Berated For 'Humiliating' Thieving Mom In Front Of Neighbor By Confronting Her About Money She Stole

As children, we are told to respect our elders.

And unjust as it may seem, it is important for children to speak respectfully to their parents and guardians, even when they speak sternly to us.

Most of the time, they do have our best interests in mind.

Sometimes, however, our emotions get the better of us, and we speak in a way we normally wouldn't.

The younger we are, the more difficult it is to control our emotions.

Redditor bubblcrab had a somewhat complicated relationship with her mother.

Mainly because the original poster (OP) had more responsibilities than most people their age.

However, after discovering that their mother broke their trust, the OP found themselves letting their mother have it.

Something their neighbors happened to witness as well.

Having some doubts about their behavior, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:

"AITA for losing my sh*t on my mom and humiliating her in front of our neighbor?"

"It’s been my childhood dream so Ive cut back on things I wanted, like going out on weekends and partying."

"My mom knew how hard I was working and how much this trip meant to me."

"Last month I got paid extra for working overtime and decided to use that money to buy a new monitor for my PC."

"Mine had had a huge vertical line on the screen for 3 months."

"I could afford it without touching my savings or the money I contributed to the household."

"She knew about the overtime pay so she asked to borrow some money."

"She’d gotten into a car accident bc she was on her phone and rear-ended another car at a red light."

"She’d already spent way too much that month on shopping and other things, and the amount she needed was more than I’d made from overtime anyway."

"I explained that I couldn’t lend her the money because it already had a purpose."

"I also couldn’t touch the money I used for household expenses or I’d end up in the red and have to work extra hours the following month."

"I told her she could wait until the next month and pay for it herself since it wasn’t an emergency."

"The situation passed."

"Until last week."

"I left my phone at home.next day I went grocery shopping and my Apple Pay wasn’t working."

"I logged into my bank account to pay with a QR code instead and my heart f*cking dropped."

"Part of my balance was missing."

"I started checking my transactions while having a panic attack in the store, and I found it."

"She’d transferred the exact amount we’d argued about into her own account."

"She had my passwords because I’d set up my bank account with her help."

"I never thought she’d do something like that."

"I know I was stupid for not securing my account properly, but I genuinely trusted her."

"She’s my mom."

"I came home, and I found her outside and completely lost my sh*t."

"I told her she had no right to take my money that I’d worked for it."

"I called her an ungrateful bitch and told her I wasn’t going to help with anything beyond my agreed share of the household expenses anymore."

"I’d pay half, and she could figure out the rest."

"I wasn’t going to be the idiot paying for everything at 17 while she, a grown-ass woman, spent money on pointless sh*t."

"Of course, she started crying, saying she’d only borrowed the money and was going to pay me back like she always did."

"Idfc, she had no right to take it without my permission especially because I NEEDED THAT MONEY THAT WEEK TO BUY MY MONITOR."

"I was yelling so loudly that our neighbor came outside and heard the whole thing."

"She said I was trying to humiliate her in front of everyone."

"Anyways I grabbed a few things, shoved them into my everyday backpack, and went to my aunt’s house."

"I’ve been here ever since. she also called my aunt and started saying sh*t about what kind of daughter abandons her own mother and leaves her home alone."

"AITA?"

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:

• NTA - Not The A**hole
• YTA - You're The A**hole
• NAH - No A**holes Here
• ESH - Everyone Sucks Here

The Reddit community firmly agreed that the OP was not the a**Hole for confronting their mother.

While some did feel that the OP overreacted, they otherwise agreed that the OP's mother deserved to be put in her place, pointing out that what she did was theft, and expressing that her teenage child shouldn't be supporting the household as much as they were in the first place:

"NTA that's theft and she knew it."

"If you haven't already, change your passwords."- xMissingMusic

"1. Thats theft."

"2. You're a minor and you shouldn't be contributing to household expenses."

"Thats your mom's job."

"I understand times are tough."

"But she's responsible for caring for you."

"Look up parentification."

"NTA."- vinegargirl757

"NTA."

"When it comes to a parent stealing from their own child, I will never consider a verbal crashout worthy of being called the A H."

"She deserved the humiliation."- Stock_Particular6525

"NTA."

"Overreaction."

"Maybe, but you weren't intending to humiliate your mother in public."

"You just got into in public and she felt humiliated."

"Secure your bank account."- rockology_adam

"NTA."

"That was theft."- moot888

"NTA."

"She didn't take no for an answer and tried to guilt-trip you while stealing your money."

"You can help but you have no obligation."

"You're not the mom."- BetternotPunk

"NTA."

"But don't count on seeing that money now."

"If I were you I'd change ALL my passwords and move in permanently with my aunt."

"Your mom is a grown adult and doesn't need her child paying her bills."- moonshadowhowl

"NTA."

"If she didn't want to be humiliated, she shouldn't have stolen from her child."

"I'd see if you could stay with your aunt on a more permanent basis."- FatTabby

"NTA this happened to me."- deerpato

"1] Get her name off all your accounts and change your password."

"2] You say your dad passed away; are you not getting survivor benefits? At 16, that becomes your money legally."

"3] It sounds like your mom is using you to relieve her grief and financial stress, not ok! I'm a widow with kids myself and that's super f**ked up behavior!"

"You shouldn't be paying any bills in your home, you're a kid still."

"It might be worth discussing all this with a trusted adult [maybe your aunt] and see what can be done to right this whole situation."

"Even if that means moving out permanently and forcing your mom to be an adult."

"I'm so sorry you're going through all this."

"NTA..so much."- Over-Method-1216

"NTA."

"'Saying she’d only borrowed the money and was going to pay me back'."

"She asked to borrow it."

"You said no."

"Then she stole it."

"It's not borrowing."

"It's stealing, even if she planned to put it back eventually."

"''What kind of daughter abandons her own mother and leaves her home alone'."

"Who does she think the parent is in this relationship?"

"'At 17'."

"Whoa!"

"She is putting way too much on you."

"I get needing everyone to chip in because things are tight, but your mom has crossed over, consciously or not, into just taking advantage of you."

"I'm sorry."

"That really sucks."

"FWIW if I found out my niece was having this kind of problem with her parents, she would absolutely be welcome with me."

"We would figure it out."

"If your aunt will have you, stay there."- thefanciestcat

"NTA."

" If you can stay with your aunt, stay there."

"Your mother stole from you."- Jonathan-Welford

"NTA."

"Your mother seems to have misunderstood something,"

"It's a child you don't leave home alone, not a grown woman."- AcanthocephalaOne285

"NTA."

"It doesn't matter that she is your mother, it does not matter that she 'planned to pay it back'."

"What she did was legit THEFT."

"She asked, you told her no and she proceeded to take it anyway because she felt entitled to your money."

"What she did is a crime and frankly, you should be reporting this to your bank and disputing it with your bank, even if it means filing a police report."

"Also, change any and all passwords to your accounts that she has access to."

"You are still a minor in the eyes of the law, it is not your job to be paying for her mistakes, she is the adult not you."-PreferenceOld6364

There's no denying that being yelled at in public is very humiliating.

That said, the OP wasn't trying to humiliate their mother, and if she'd simply left the OP's hard-earned money alone, none of this would have happened.

Something the OP might want to consider while she's "home alone" is what kind of mother relies on her teenage children to support her...