A popular post on the Reddit forum known as “True Off My Chest” may sound petty at first, but seems to reveal a past situation of serious child abuse that makes you wonder how Child Protective Services failed so badly. According to the OP, their mother made a bad career decision that left her unable to pay the mortgage on her seven-bedroom house and in need of shelter from one of her kids. OP was shocked to find their mother on their doorstep one day, considering how she treated them as a child.
“I don’t know why in gods good name my mom thought I would be the one to come to,” the post begins. “We don’t get along. I went to live with dad at 16 because she told me she hated me and kicked me out. My older brother, the golden child, I know for a fact has a spare bedroom she could sleep in now that she’s losing the house.”
The Redditor went on to explain that there’s not a lot of room in their two-bedroom house they share with their husband, especially with the share room serving as an office. But mostly, they were baffled because of the way their mother had treated them throughout childhood and into their adult life, ignoring them “unless she wanted something.”
Why she didn’t opt to stay with a different child who she didn’t kick out of her house at age 16 remains a mystery, but she’s going to have to anyway, because she did not like the conditions she was presented with if she was going to stay with the OP. The Redditor says that the rules they listed were the exact same ones they were forced to endure when they were a kid until they could go live with “the one parent that loved me.”
What follows could be the basis for a horrifying memoir.
“All electronics were to be turned off by 6 pm. If she was caught with any after that they would be taken away and sold at the next yard sale,” the list reads. “Bedtime was 7:30, if I caught her up I would take away all of her clothing for the week.”
All of it? Like, they would have to be naked for a week? Or wear paper bags? But still, it gets worse.
“She may only shower for 5 minutes, once every three days.”
“All chores must be done the moment she wakes up. If I roll out of bed and they are not she will not be getting meals for the day.”
And now we’re into clear, unambiguous child abuse territory. Refusing to feed one’s child, as a punishment or for any other reason, is grounds for arrest and charges of child endangerment.
Other rules included basically being at the OP’s beck and call at all waking hours under the threat of losing “bedding privileges,” being the OP’s personal chauffeur, and only getting communication from the outside world that the OP approves of.
“I will be reading all her mail, text messages, and emails. I will give her the ones I deem acceptable communication under my roof.”
The final rule stated that OP’s mom could be kicked out at any time with only the possessions she could fit into a “torn-up backpack.”
Somehow, this abusive mother missed the point completely, as though she’s in a state of complete denial over what she did to her own child.
“She called me a monster, told me these conditions were inhuman, and asked if I was insane. These were the exact conditions I lived under for years as a teenager.”
The Redditor reports that they don’t know what happened to their mom after she stormed out, only that their brother said that they have “the biggest balls in the family.” They are remorseless for their actions, and most commenters are on their side and appalled to find out how badly they were abused for 16 years of their life, though happy to know that she got a taste of her own medicine.
