When you’re a teenager you can’t help but press buttons and boundaries.
You often don’t think before you act and consequences aren’t something you consider.
And you forget how your actions will affect others.
Case in point…
Our Redditor ThrowRAprank_problem wanted to discuss her story for some feedback. So naturally she came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
She asked:
“AITA for kicking my little brother out over a prank?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“Me (25 F[emale]) and my Husband ‘Marcus’ (28 M[ale]) have a beautiful 2 month old daughter.”
“Background: About a year ago, my little brother ‘Jacob’ (17M) came to stay with Marcus and I.”
“My Mom said that she and Jacob were constantly fighting, so Jacob asked if he could stay with us until he goes off to College.”
“I was a bit hesitant at first, but Jacob is my brother and I wanted to help him out.”
“For the past year everything has been going fairly well… until yesterday. Marcus was at work while Me, Jacob, and my daughter were all at home.”
“I asked Jacob if he could keep an eye on my daughter for a few minutes while I was in the bathroom. After I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Jacob playing with my daughter.”
“He was at the top of a long staircase, before I could blink, Jacob stumbled and my daughter came barreling down the stairs like a rag doll.”
“I started crying hysterically and bolted over to the bottom of the stairs.”
“After I got a closer look, it turns out that it wasn’t my daughter, it was one of my niece’s baby dolls wrapped in my daughter’s blanket.”
“My mind was blank, I looked up and saw Jacob cracking up, saying he ‘can’t believe that worked.’ I snapped! I started screaming at him and told him that he was ‘beyond f**ked up!'”
“Jacob tried to calm me down, he said it was just a joke and that my daughter was safe and sound in her room.”
“I was inconsolable at this point, I told him to just pack his sh*t and get out! Jacob started crying, he begged me to let him stay and said that he didn’t mean any harm.”
“I called my Mom and told her that she needed to come pick up Jacob, or he’s gonna be on the streets!”
“My Mom came and got Jacob, but she later called me and said that I was massively overreacting.”
“Even Marcus agrees with my Mom, he says that Jacob is a dumb teen and should be given a second chance.”
“Now that I’m in a calm state of mind, I’m starting to doubt my reaction, and I’m wondering if I went too far. AITA?”
Redditors had no issue sharing their thoughts on this matter by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors felt our OP was NOT the a**hole.
So let’s take a deep dive into their thoughts.
“NTA – he made a dumb decision and he’s going to learn there are consequences.”
“And I’m sorry you had to live for even a second thinking your daughter was flung down the stairs.” ~ pinkie18
“Yeah that fear may only last a few seconds but it sticks with you for a remarkably long time, even if you’re healthy and well-adjusted.”
“When my daughter was younger she managed to bounce herself off the bed and it only took ten seconds for me to see that she wasn’t badly injured, but she wasn’t crying so I feared the worst.”
“Don’t let your brother back, OP. But absolutely ask him to explain to you and your mother what part of the prank was meant to be funny.”
“Don’t let him be vague. Really make him spell it out.”
“And when he can’t, ask him whether your distress was worth whatever humour he found in the situation.” ~ knittedjedi
“This. And as someone who another person shoved down a flight of concrete steps at the age of 9, I saw red and had to go outside for some air.”
“I nearly died that day and decades later my hip still doesn’t work like it should.”
“Doing something like this in my household would be grounds for something that breaks rule #5.” ~ twilitfall
“As someone who as a child fell from the top bunk and fell on my neck/head, and now triple the age I was then when I fell.”
“I couldn’t imagine putting any parent through the abject fear of their child having such a potentially life-changing fall.”
“NTA. I agree with u/knittedjedi.”
“Everyone who thinks you overreacted, have them all sit down together, including your brother, and have your brother explain the ‘prank’ in all its details.”
“How him doing something so heinous to your child is supposed to be funny.”
“I also wouldn’t be against showing your partner this thread.”
“Let him see the stories of everyone who has posted, and how far from a ‘overreaction’ this truly is.” ~ RedditKentiar
“Not just life-changing fall, potentially life-threatening.”
“A 2 month old’s skull and brain are not even close to being developed enough.”
“A tumble down the stairs like that could cause a myriad of issues, one of them being death.”
“Adults have died falling down the stairs. What makes her brother think any different of a 2 month old baby? NTA.” ~ beepboopneepnoop
“I don’t get pranks like this.”
“My mom once pranked me by screaming in the kitchen, so I went running from my room, nearly twisting my ankle, to see her clutching her hand with what looked like blood everywhere but I later found out was cherry juice.”
“Said she cut her hand and I needed to take her to the hospital.”
“But apparently I react super calmly to emergencies, and just kinda started talking her through finding a rag or towel to keep pressure on it, and trying to find things we would need to take instead of freaking out.”
“She was super disappointed that I didn’t react like she expected.” ~YukiXain
“I fell down a flight of stairs as an infant.”
“I was completely unharmed, but my mother still starts sobbing at the memory and I’m in my thirties now.”
“NTA, OP.” ~ ironrabbit2
The one thing that is most important about pranks, is that they are well thought out.
Playing a prank can take a bad turn real fast. So think it through. And know your audience.
Funny or not, not everybody appreciates being pranked.
Hopefully this clan can work through this.