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The internet has defended a parent for not allowing her son to have friends over until someone confesses to breaking her laptop.
Published to Reddit's popular r/AmITheA**hole forum, a parent under the anonymous username u/brokenlaptopmom shared her story to get the opinions of the "AITA" community. The viral post has over 6,000 upvotes and 700 comments.
The original poster (OP) began her post by saying that her 19-year-old son had some friends over recently. When she went upstairs to bed, her son and his friends were down in the basement.
The next morning when she came to get her laptop to check her emails, there was a giant crack on the screen and drink stains on the keyboard.
The OP wrote, "When my son got up I asked him if he knew who had damaged my laptop. He said he didn't know and they had been in the basement while I had left my laptop in the dining room. I told him there was no way the laptop broke its own screen and spilled a drink on itself so if it wasn't him then it was one of his friends. He swore up and down that no one had touched my laptop. I was like okay, then no friends over until someone fesses up.
"I don't think he took me seriously because I came home from work a few days later and he had some of his friends over. I apologized to them but informed them no one had owned up to breaking my laptop so I wasn't allowing company over in the meantime. My son is very upset, says I'm embarrassing him. I'm of the mind that I don't want people in my house who feel it's okay to break my things and then hide it," she continued.
She confirmed that she doesn't expect their son or his friends to pay for the repairs, she wanted the person responsible to come forward and apologize. When speaking with her sister, she agreed with the OP's son, saying the publishment was "too harsh" and that she was embarrassing her son.
Newsweek reached out to u/brokenlaptopmom for comment.
Encouraging your child to tell the truth is crucial. According to Today.com, be aware of how you respond to bad behavior as that kind of behavior could scare a child into thinking they will be yelled at or punished. Use your "calm voice" as it could make your child feel safer when telling you what happened.
Other tips include showing your appreciation when they tell you the truth and celebrating the mistakes, teaching them what they can do differently next time. If they do something wrong, remind them that nothing they do will change the love you have for them.
The Reddit community shared their opinions in the comment section, defending the OP. Many questioned if anyone else was in the house at the time.
"How... is.. that.. punishment..... overly harsh? it seems like the natural progression.... if a group of people breaks something at your home, of course you wouldnt want to let them back in....? [Not the a**hole] and what is your sister on [laughing my a** off]," u/moosepoints wrote, receiving the top comment with over 11,000 upvotes.
U/Deucalion666 said, "[Not the a**hole] someone did it, and until someone admits to it there needs to be some consequences. Clearly him and his friends can not be trusted to be in the house."
"[Not the a**hole]. The punishment is not harsh, not even a punishment imho, just a way to prevent damage to your stuff," u/someaholetookmyname commented.
"Was there anyone else who could have possibly broken it. Like another sibling," u/mortyfan questioned.
About the writer
Ashley Gale is a Newsweek reporter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her focus is reporting on trends. She has covered trends, ... Read more