'Disgusted': Parents Slammed for Donating Daughter's Books As Punishment

Members of a popular internet forum were revolted after one woman explained how her book-loving niece sadly ended up bookless.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/aitabibliophile (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she shares that love for books but revealed how her sister's disdain for reading sparked major conflict between family members.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for telling my sister and [brother-in-law] they're 's**tty excuse for parents' after learning they threw out my nieces books?" the post has received nearly 8,000 votes and 1,400 comments in the last day.

Writing that both she and her 16-year-old niece, "Liz," are avid readers, even qualifying as bibliophiles, the original poster said she has always encouraged the habit, despite blowback from the teenager's parents.

"Liz usually sends me a list of books and I pick out a few as birthday, Christmas, etc." OP wrote. "Liz's parents...are the opposite. They think Liz wastes time reading so much."

Recently, the original poster said her niece borrowed a book and that she planned to retrieve the book when her family gathered for dinner over the weekend. However, the original poster discovered the book was gone, as well as the unfortunate reason why.

"Liz wouldn't look me in the eye and was acting kinda uncomfortable, which isn't like her," OP wrote. "She looked very upset and said she was sorry but she couldn't give my book back because her dad threw it away."

"She said that she was late doing chores or something so [her dad] picked up some books from the shelf, which had mine in the stack and gave them all to a donation bin," OP continued. "[Her parents] went on a spiel about how Liz is going too far and not listening to them, and she's a moody teen who'll get over it."

"I snapped and told them that they've hurt Liz big time and are a s**tty excuse for parents," OP added. "I felt disgusted and told Liz to send me a list of the books she lost and I'll buy them for her again."

Disciplining teenagers—for serious infractions or less-severe malfeasance—is challenging for many parents.

Despite a myriad of difficulties, parents often resort to similar disciplinary tactics and in the internet era, a majority of these tactics involve angsty teenagers' most prized possession: the cell phone.

Last decade, data collected by Pew Research Center revealed that 62 percent of parents in the U.S. have taken away their teen's phone as punishment, and that 13 and 14-year-olds are most likely to lose their digital privileges.

In 2018, leading mental health publication Psychology Today examined the practice of deprivation, and why taking away possessions and privileges from teenagers can be as risky as it is effective.

"Deprivation needs to be kept short-term to be most effective because the longer it goes on the easier it becomes for the adolescent to adjust to doing without," Psychology Today contributor Carl E. Pickhardt Ph.D wrote.

"At worst, excessive deprivation can create deep and abiding grievance and provoke angry acting out," Pickhardt added. "I suggest using deprivation selectively, not routinely, and keeping it as a last resort only after three other corrective approaches have been tried first."

While it is unclear whether the original poster's sister and brother-in-law tried other approaches, or why they felt the need to punish their daughter at all, OP said they made the decision to completely get rid of her niece's books, almost certainly without considering giving them back.

Throughout the viral post's comment section, Redditors called out the couple and employed heavy sarcasm while criticizing their brash parenting style.

"A teenager who reads, quick someone call the police," Redditor u/JackeyLoveJay wrote in the post's top comment, which has received more than 14,000 votes. "[Not the a**hole]."

"They're books," Redditor u/venusjupiternix added, receiving nearly 5,000 votes. "Not drugs."

Redditor u/ClothesQueasy2828, whose comment has received more than 2,300 votes, questioned why parents would prevent their child from reading when most parents wish their teens read more.

"[Not the a**hole]," they wrote. "In a world where kids don't ready enough, why would a parent discourage it?"

"'A moody teen reading books' is pretty much a best-case scenario for a moody teenager," Redditor u/echoCashMeOusside chimed in. "All teenagers are moody, but at least she's building her imagination and stimulating her intellect and not smashing mailboxes."

Newsweek reached out to u/aitabibliophile for comment.