Mom's shocking parenting method sparks fierce backlash: 'Literal child abuse'
- A woman took to Reddit to ask for advice about her sister-in-law's method
- She said her brother's fiancée's 'parenting method' had left her uneasy
- Her post ignited immense backlash for the mom
A mom's shocking way of punishing her child when they misbehave has sparked fierce backlash online.
A woman who goes by the username SuccessfulTreacle248 on Reddit took to the platform earlier this month to ask for advice after she said her soon-to-be sister-in-law's 'parenting method' had left her uneasy.
Writing in the subreddit Am I the A**hole, the woman, 29, who did not share her name, explained that her brother Tom, 34, recently got engaged to his girlfriend Melissa, 32, who has a six-year-old son named Dylan.
She said she was babysitting the youngster last weekend when he opened up his mom's tactic for reprimanding him... and his admission left people all across the web horrified.
The Reddit poster explained that it began after Dylan accidentally broke a glass figurine in her home while he was playing.
Immediately, he said he burst into tears and begged her not to tell his mom.
'She'll give me quiet time,' the woman said he told her, adding, 'I asked what "quiet time" meant, and Dylan explained that when he misbehaves, Melissa makes him kneel, facing the wall for an hour, sometimes longer if he cries or moves.
'If he speaks, she adds more time. This shocked me, but I kept calm and told him accidents happen.'
A mom's shocking way of punishing her child when they misbehave has sparked fierce backlash online (stock image)
A woman took to Reddit earlier this month to ask for advice after she said her soon-to-be sister-in-law's 'parenting method' had left her uneasy
The woman explained that she later spoke to her brother privately about what Dylan had shared, but he defended his fiancée.
'Tom defended her, saying I don't understand parenting and that Dylan is "dramatic." He claimed it's just a "time-out" and I'm overreacting,' she shared.
The Reddit poster said she later decided to 'confront' Melissa directly, and told the mother-of-one that she felt her punishment was 'excessive and potentially abusive.'
'[Melissa] completely flipped out, saying I had no right to question her parenting when I don't have kids,' the woman continued.
'She accused me of trying to sabotage their relationship and twisting a child's words.'
She said the situation has 'divided' her 'entire family,' as her parents think she was 'overstepping' and should 'apologize,' while her sister 'agrees that the punishment sounds problematic.'
It's gotten so bad that the woman revealed she's been 'uninvited from their wedding.'
'Tom is demanding I apologize to Melissa before their wedding,' she wrote. 'But I refuse to apologize for speaking up about something that seems wrong to me.
The woman said her brother's fiancée makes her son kneel and face the wall for an hour when he's in trouble, and it ignited immense backlash for the mom
The Reddit poster said the situation has 'divided' her 'entire family,' and it's gotten so bad that the woman revealed she's been 'uninvited from their wedding' (stock image)
'Making a child kneel silently for extended periods doesn't seem like appropriate discipline. Now I'm uninvited from their wedding and causing family drama.'
She concluded her post by asking others to weigh in, writing, 'Am I the a**hole for refusing to let this go and apologize?'
The woman's post ignited immense backlash for Melissa, as users flocked to the comment section to slam her, with some even branding her method as 'abusive.'
'An hour on his knees?!?! As a mom myself I am horrified,' one shocked person replied.
'Also he accidentally broke something and started crying because he was scared of his mom. So no overreaction there.
'Giving children a time out okay but not for an hour and not on his knees God damn.'
'I'm a therapist for kids and can confirm I would 100 percent report this as abuse because it's excessive and abusive,' slammed another.
'Also, it's punishing developmentally appropriate behavior. If you make a a report to social services, that’s all you are doing.
'It's their job to investigate and decide. It's hard but it is the right thing. I'm sorry you were put into this difficult situation.'
'I'd call this literal child abuse,' agreed someone else.
'Time out is like five to 10 mins on a step then talking out the problem. Not an hour facing the wall in knees,' read a fourth comment.
A fifth said, 'Doing that to a six-year-old child is abusive AF. I would be calling Child services and requesting a wellness check on that little boy.'
'If a child is crying, terrified, begging you not to tell their mom, that's a huge red flag,' a different user penned.
'Not the a**hole. report this to social services ASAP,' urged another.
'Sorry, but forcing a child to kneel for hours in silence isn’t discipline - it's cruelty,' wrote someone else.
'Just because someone slaps a "parenting" label on something doesn't make it OK. Melissa flipping out when you confronted her just proves she knows it’s messed up. You did the right thing, even if it ruffled feathers.'
