Hardworking Boy, 12, Earns Money All Summer – His Mother Steals It and Accuses Him of Lying

When one boy's parents refused to buy the toys he wanted, he decided to procure them for himself and worked several petty gigs to save $100. But one day, his mother stole his money and told him that he only imagined he had it!

Is it acceptable for parents to steal from their children, especially if it's their hard-earned money? One mom not only had the guts to steal from her little boy but also twisted the truth by saying he was lying about having the money.

The Redditor grew up experiencing several nightmares involving his parents, but an incident when he was just 12 stood out. The guy thought sharing this story on Reddit would ease the burden off his shoulders and help him clear his head.

What Trauma Did One Reddit User Experience as a Young Child?

Back in the day, the original poster (OP) loved building toy car models and airsoft guns, so when he found his preferred toys on a website, he was fascinated and yearned to have them. He ran the math and estimated it would cost around $100, including tax and shipping.

His mother chimed in and questioned, "What money? You are always lying about having money."

The boy asked his parents to order the toys, but they rejected his request. However, OP was determined to buy them somehow. He took the straight route of hard work and busted his chops for the next five to six months doing things that would earn him money, stating:

"I would go door to door selling stuff a 12-year-old would make: drawings, sticks that I widdled into little spears, mowed a countless number of lawns, and walked many dogs."

The OP went door to door and sold his drawings and little spears he'd carved out of sticks. He mowed lawns and walked dogs, and by the end of summer, he'd beefed up his savings to the $100 he needed!

It was the happiest day of his life when a lively little OP approached his parents and informed them he'd raised the money to get his toys. He asked them to order them online using their credit card and would reimburse them in cash.

The boy's parents agreed and walked him over to the computer. He happily gave away the $100 to his dad and eagerly waited for them to place the order. But as OP watched curiously, his parents dropped the bomb, saying they couldn't complete the order because the computer broke down.

OP knew computers better than his parents and instantly realized they had lied to him. He trusted his instincts and demanded his money back, but after hearing him out, his mom grabbed the cash and raced to her bedroom while OP sprinted behind her in disbelief.

The mom locked herself in the bathroom before OP could get in, so he kicked and screamed outside, begging her to return his $100. But his mom repeatedly told him, "You don't need this money," and assured him she would deposit it in his bank account for college.

OP was stunned his parents would ever do this to him, and by the time he snapped to his senses, his dad had dragged him out and locked him in his bedroom. He was confined to his room for an entire day and was only allowed outside the next day.

After coming out, he saw his parents behaving normally. He knew something was up, so he said, "I started my day by screaming and crying," asking them to return his money, but his mother chimed in and questioned, "What money? You are always lying about having money."

OP was confused when she said this, and it hurt him to think anybody witnessing all of this would assume something was off with him. However, the boy never gave up asking for his money.

To his disbelief, his parents gaslighted him, saying he was imagining things. They accused him of lying and claimed he tried stealing from them. Reddit users who read OP's story shared their thoughts on the matter.

What Did Reddit Users Say about OP's Heartbreaking Story?

People flocked to share their thoughts when OP got this agony off his chest on Reddit. However, some people felt OP's parents were way worse than monsters, with one person stating:

"Honestly, monsters is an understatement."

Meanwhile, someone else recounted their mom rummaging through their bags for the money they got from gifts and babysitting. "Ugh. I HATE parents trying to control money. THIS IS THE WORST," the person said, adding:

"I always had my money, I just wasn't allowed to use it, or she would take at most 25 dollars."

As for the $100 OP's parents took from him, they decided not to return it to him and kept him in a web of lies about it until he gave up asking again. "I never ended up getting that money back, but I learned not to trust my parents with money on that day, and that was a lesson worth more than $100," OP recounted.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think you would ever trust your parent again after he/she steals your money and accuses you of lying?

After OP's parents constantly kept him in a web of lies about his money and refused to return it to him, he gave up and decided not to trust them again with money. What would you do if your parents took your hard-earned money and accused you of lying?

Would you forgive your parents if they stole money from you?

When OP's parents refused to return his money, he thought negatively about them. He said the incident was a lesson worth more than the $100 they stole from him. Although it's unclear if OP forgave his parents, would you forgive them if you were OP?

If you liked reading this story, here's one about a dad who finally united with his long-lost daughter but kicked her out for passing a mean comment on a picture without knowing who she was talking about.