Woman Backed for Banning Niece From Pool Over Prank: 'Crossed a Boundary'

A woman who banned her niece from using a swimming pool after the child pulled an "extremely scary" drowning prank has been backed by users on Reddit.

In a post shared on Reddit's Am I the A**hole (AITIA) sub, user Apart-Rain-5303 said the incident took place while babysitting her two nieces, who are 8 and 11 years old and "not strong swimmers" yet.

"Before they got in I went over the rules, no running, no fighting and only ask for help if you really need it," the user said. But around a half hour later, the 8-year-old started "screaming for help" and appeared to be drowning.

The user said: "I freak out and jump in to get her. Once I get to her she starts laughing! She was faking!."

The 8-year-old was told she's not allowed in the pool for the rest of the day "since she can't seem to follow rules."

Her "extremely sensitive" niece has "not stopped crying" since being told she was temporarily banned from the pool. "She keeps asking to get back in and saying it isn't fair. I explained I gave you rules and you didn't but follow them," the aunt asked.

The original poster told Newsweek that she later spoke to her niece, explaining "how someone could have actually gotten hurt" and "she ended up being very remorseful," claiming that "she wasn't trying to scare" her aunt.

Later that evening, the niece was allowed back in the pool and the aunt swam with the both of her nieces, the user said.

Several users supported the original poster's move, with many saying it is for her niece's "safety" and would teach her a lesson about "boundaries" and "consequences."

MaybeAWalrus said: "NTA [not the a**hole]. This is no joke. Even if she is the best kid ever, she need to understand that she crossed a boundary. You are doing it for her own safety" in a comment that received 22,200 upvotes at the time of writing.

Drowning certainly is not a joke, as it is a leading cause of death for children in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention.

In the U.S., more children aged 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death except birth defects. For kids aged from 1 to 14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes.

User HarliquinJane54 simply wrote: "Actions have consequences nta," in a comment that received 5,200 upvotes.

User likeasafriendhandles said the original poster is "absolutely NTA," adding that "this is how you teach children important lessons without physically abusing them. period," in a comment that got 1,900 upvotes.

Florida_Flower8421 said: "OP [original poster] is doing the right thing," as it is "truly a case of not following an important rule."

The user added: "It may suck today, but the next time she swims, she won't do it. We can learn the easy way by listening the first time, or learn through consequences."

User Common--Sensei agreed, noting: "Yep. Kid will learn not to do it again. Stick to your guns, OP," in a comment that got 2,700 upvotes.

Several users said it's important to explain the reason for the measure taken by the aunt.

User Kiruna235 suggested explaining to the niece why her aunt had those rules in place, why her prank "was not funny" and why it resulted in being banned from the pool for the day.

"I have found that a boundary lesson tends to stick better once a child has learned that the boundaries will stay, no exceptions, and that there's a valid reason behind the consequences given for boundaries crossed," Kiruna235 added in a comment that got 280 upvotes.

User Thequiet01 said they previously told their son "it's my job to let him explore and try things out *safely* and so sometimes I'll have to say no because stuff just isn't safe enough. So it's not an arbitrary Mystery Rule. He may not agree about my assessment of safety, and he can say so, but we're still going with my assessment because if anything happens it's on me."

Other users pointed out the risks of pulling a prank such as a fake drowning and how it could impact the child's safety and others' response to actual dangerous situations.

User justmaybemaggie said: "What if she was at a public pool, distracted the lifeguard with her antics, and another kid in real distress ended up severely injured or even dead? She needs to learn this lesson in a really concrete way this time."

User Abigail_Normal agreed, suggesting: "You should sit her down and tell her the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf and explain to her that if she does this again, you'll be less likely to believe her and she could seriously get hurt because of it if she was actually drowning...

"Pranks like this are extremely scary and should never be joked about. She's old enough to learn that lesson, but you have to really explain to her why her behavior isn't okay," the user added in a comment that got 2,100 upvotes.

Update 6/15/22, 10:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from user Apart-Rain-5303.