Ah, TikTok. What would the subreddit r/Cringetopia do without it? Yes, there is a good side to the platform but over the years, it has become a cesspool for garbage like fake relationship drama and abusive "pranks." So when Redditor u/Substantial_Camel598 discovered her 13-year-old daughter contributing to it, the parent was ruthless.
You see, the girl decided to get views at her brother's expense — the young TikToker shaved his head while the boy was calmly sleeping in his bed.
u/Substantial_Camel598 and her partner wanted to make it clear that such a thing is not OK, so the couple punished their daughter by replacing her smartphone with an ancient Nokia, taking away her laptop, and grounding her for a year (or until the boy's hair grows back).
Some people in their immediate family, however, thought these measures were too much and started pressuring the parents to go easier on their kid. As doubts started creeping into the mom's head, she turned to Reddit for advice.
Image credits: Jenny Mealing (not the actual photo)
To learn more about it, we contacted u/Substantial_Camel598 and she agreed to dive a little deeper into the situation. "My daughter's personality is hard to describe," the mom told Bored Panda. "She behaves differently from day to day ... [and can be] the kind of person who insults others because 'it's funny.' To her, however, it's all in good fun and she often talks behind other people's backs. She's not necessarily mean, but she is quite abrasive."
Prior to the whole ordeal, the 13-year-old had a pretty normal relationship with her brother. "They're not particularly close but they talked once or twice a day. Normally, if my daughter needed someone to vent to, she could do it to him, and my son, whilst he wasn't very open about his own life, he tried his best to be a good older brother," the mom explained. "My son himself is a good listener and not very open."
As of our conversation with the Redditor, the girl still hasn't made peace with the aftermath of the incident. She sometimes flat out refuses to speak to her parents and is even angrier at her brother because "she feels like he exaggerated his reaction to get her a more severe punishment."
"She initially hid her phones and tried to hide her laptop but we found them and her laptop is locked up, and her phone is being sold, and we have bought a keypad Nokia. She is now begging us to accept her apology and not go through with the punishment but we're holding firm," u/Substantial_Camel598 said.
Most people think the punishment fits the crime
When it comes to disciplining a child, the most important thing is to do so without violence and cruel words — these things don't work at all. The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) advises that parents and caregivers should not spank or hit children. Instead of teaching responsibility and self-control, spanking actually does the opposite: it often increases aggression and anger in children. A study of children born in 20 medium to large U.S. cities discovered that families who used physical punishment got caught in a negative cycle: the more children were spanked, the more they misbehaved later, which prompted more spankings in response. Spanking’s effects may also be felt beyond the parent-child relationship — it sends the message that causing someone pain is OK if you’re frustrated. Even with those you love.
Parents who yell at children and use words to cause them emotional pain or shame are also in the wrong. Harsh verbal discipline, even by moms and dads who are otherwise warm and loving, can lead to serious issues. Research shows that harsh verbal discipline, which becomes more common as children get older, may lead to more behavior problems and symptoms of depression in teens.
But some say it's too much
