Parents never take pleasure in punishing or scolding their children.
But bad behavior has consequences, particularly when bad behavior directly affects someone else.
And the bad behavior of her son left Redditor number64745834 with no other choice than to reprimand her son, after he pulled a prank which simply went too far.
But when the original poster (OP)’s husband scolded her for the way she behaved towards their son, she found herself taking to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), asking fellow Redditors:
“AITA for believing the housekeeper over my son?”
The OP first filled readers in on her current situation, and the antics her son frequently pulled around their housekeeper.
“We hired a housekeeper that comes over several times a week to get the house clean since my husband and I are busy with work.”
“We have 2 kids (Jeremy 16 & Raya 14).
“Jeremy is a jokester, he likes pulling pranks on everyone in the house…and that included the housekeeper.”
“He did stuff like throw her purse, hide her wallet and got punished for it then told to not do it again because our housekeeper almost quit and we didn’t want that.”
But Jeremy didn’t heed his mother’s warning, subsequently taking his practical jokes to a whole new level.
“Now onto the current situation…some days ago I got a call from Jeremy while he was having friends over telling me he saw the housekeeper sneak some of my jewelry into her purse and asked me to come home immediately.”
“I freaked out and tried to call my husband but he didn’t pick up.”
“I went home and was mad, I talked to the housekeeper and she denied putting anything in her purse, 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….”
“I believed her and figured Jeremy had something to do with it given his history. “
“I switched my attention towards him and had him explain to me exactly how he saw our housekeeper do it.”
“He told me what he saw but a friend of his came forward and said 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, I kicked the rest of his friends who covered for him out and I punished him hard and apologized to the housekeeper.”
It seemed to be a punishment befitting its crime, but the OP was surprised to find her husband thought otherwise.
“My husband reacted unexpectedly after he heard and said that I was wrong for choosing to believe the housekeeper over our son even though there was a witness.”
“But he said his friend must’ve said this to get him in trouble or because the housekeeper paid him to side with her which was shockingly absurd of him to say.”
“He said I was not being a good mother and my first instinct is to always believe my son in whatever he says and never ever question him in front of his friends like that.”
“I’m confused, did I mess up?”
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 – Everybody Sucks Here
The Reddit community agreed the OP was not at all the a**hole for believing their housekeeper, particularly as this was not the first time her son pulled a prank on her.
Just about everyone felt the mischievous nature of the OP’s son was more serious than simple tomfoolery and her husband needed to accept this and stop enabling him.
“House cleaner here.”
“This is HORRIFIC! “
“We already take so much pride in our clients trusting us enough to be in their homes and personal spaces.”
“Your son has issues that require serious therapy. “
“This is not a ;joke’ or a ‘prank’.”
“This is something that could have cops involved, could ruin your cleaners personal and business reputation and cause legal action against them.”
“NTA.”
“And honestly, cleaners already deal with enough.”
“We scrub crusted sh*t off the sides of toilets.”
“Your son needs to have respect.”
“Start making him and your husband clean the damn house until they can respect who comes in and does it for you.”-notyouravgbelle
“NTA.”
“Your son did it.”
“His friend admitted it.”
“Your partner is enabling your sons sh*tty behavior and soon it wouldn’t surprise me if the housekeeper pressed charges (‘hiding her wallet’ aka stealing) if he keeps it up.”
“He isn’t pulling ‘pranks’, he is being an ah.”
“You need to get your partner on side bc soon your son will do something that he will go to jail for (well maybe sounds like daddy would pay anyone off while saying his boy would never!).”
“As is, your son nearly cost the housekeeper her livelihood!”
“If you fired her, if word got around and she lost other jobs, if you pressed charges.”
“Your son is a monster.”- Status-Pattern7539
“NTA.”
“As a ‘good mother,’ your instinct should be to raise your kids to be responsible adults, not to just believe everything they say.”
“Jeremy is cruel, and hiding it behind ‘pranks’.”
“The housekeeper is very lucky that Jeremy’s friend was honest, and he’s a brave kid for being honest about it.”
“Your husband is just going to keep enabling Jeremy.”-Usrname52
“NTA.”
“Your son doesn’t pull pranks.”
“He is a mean bully.”-mel122676
“NTA, but you raised one.”-ItchyRedBump
“NTA.”
“But now you have to recognize that you have a husband problem too.”
“He is enabling Jeremy’s terrible behavior.”
“This was not a prank, this was a horrific attack that could have had legal consequences if you’d called the police.”
“If you don’t get your husband on side, you need to recognize that Jeremy’s behavior is likely going to get worse because your husband isn’t going to do a single thing about it.”
“Also, reach out to the parents of the boy who came clean and congratulate them on raising an honest son who can stand up to his friends when they are wrong.”
“He’s awesome!”-Accomplished-Cheek59
Many also predicted this incident would likely result in the housekeeper at long last living up to her threat of quitting.
“But your first instinct WAS to believe your son.”
“NTA but if I were the house keeper, I’d resign if circumstances permit.”-nChariesa
It’s understandable someone wouldn’t want to keep working in such an environment, particularly after being framed for a fairly serious offense.
One only hopes the OP’s son realizes how badly he could have hurt their housekeeper, and might think twice next time he plans on pulling a prank.