Reddit Is Throwing All the Red Flags Over This Dad Who Steals His Kids' Presents
Despite elves who report back to Santa — and the threat of Santa seeing you even “when you’re sleeping” — kids will still be kids, even at Christmas. That means they are probably going to act up because (duh!) because it’s impossible to be good all the time. But instead of showing a little grace, this one dad on Reddit took an extreme approach: he started stealing his kids’ presents from right under the tree. Talk about a real-life Grinch!
“This happened before Christmas, but there is still tension in the house and I just need advice,” a mom wrote in the “Am I The A—hole?” subreddit about her husband of three years. She explained that they both have children from previous relationships in their blended family, an 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy.
“My husband started taking away presents from the Christmas tree for the children that he bought them, when the kids misbehave,” the mom wrote. “I didn’t really get a say in it since he was the one that bought the presents for the kids.”
This is awful! Christmas should never be used as a punishment and taking presents from right under the tree is just cruel. She doesn’t explain what their misbehavior was, but I’m having a hard time thinking of anything justifying that sort of reaction. Not to mention, the mom should absolutely have a say. It’s her husband and her kids, too, so the fact that she thinks she has no authority in the home is another huge problem with this scenario.
Apparently, the couple do not share money because the mom mentioned she saved up for a special present for her daughter.
“My daughter has been asking me for months to get her a switch, so I decided to save a bit and buy her one for Christmas,” the mom wrote. “It was sitting under the tree, then suddenly on Christmas Eve I noticed it was gone.”
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She continued, “I asked my daughter if she touched it and she said she didn’t, so I decided to turn to my husband, and he said that she swore at him while he was trying to get her ready for bed the night before so he decided to punish her and take away the present and return it to the store.”
Whoa, whoa — what? So on Christmas Eve night this man with an ice-cold heart steals a little girl’s present and returns it to the store?! On what universe is this sad excuse for a human trying to justify this abusive behavior? I don’t blame this girl for cursing at her stepdad because I would too — he puts the “evil stepmother” trope to shame.
The mom was (justifiably) livid. “I started seeing red, and demanded he hands me the money back since I was the one that bought that present,” she continued. “He refused, so I grabbed his present that I bought him- a brand new PS5 that he new he was getting, and returned it, got my money back and bought my daughter her switch back.”
Not all heroes wear cape, but this mom saved Christmas for her daughter and that should definitely be applauded. As for her loser husband, he stole from his wife, which is a level of abuse that goes way beyond a typical parenting disagreement.
So what did he do? Bring his parents in.
“This started a big argument with my husband and I,” the mom wrote. “And with him calling me childish for doing that. He got his family involved and they spammed my phone telling me to get his present back. But I refused. He is still not talking to me, so AITA?”
What’s that, sir? You don’t like that your present was returned after you misbehaved? Huh, that’s weird… Yet, the irony is completely lost on him. Truly a—hole behavior from the dad (and his family).
“NTA. He’s acting unilaterally and returning your present… and then kept the money?!” one person wrote. “WTF, that’s bad co-parenting but also literally stealing! Yikes about this guy. Please don’t live in denial about who he is.”
Another pointed out the extreme immaturity of this dad. “Imagine a grown ass man calling someone else childish, while demanding his gaming console Christmas gift with the help of his mommy lmao,” they wrote.
“They could make another Grinch movie with this dude but people would say it’s too unrealistic,” another said, and I can’t help but agree. Even The Grinch didn’t steal from his own family, like what?
“This isn’t just bad parenting. This guy is a controlling AH,” another agreed. “Like you said, he is a thief since he did not buy this gift nor did he discuss this with OP. Good on OP for not allowing him to treat her or her kid like this. He got the very same punishment for poor behavior that he dished out to his stepdaughter and he ran to his family crying and tattling on OP. NTA OP. Far from it. If I were OP, this would be my hill to die on.”
“Forget the hill to die on,” another responded. “This is the hill that hubby loses everything on. Stealing from the wife is already grounds to get tossed to the curb. The emotional abuse he is gleefully throwing at the kids should be more than enough to make sure that he gets to keep the clothes on his back.”
“NTA. But I think you should give him an even better Christmas present: a divorce,” another said.
This dad seems childish at best and an abusive thief at worst, so I can’t help but agree. Unless a miracle happens and this dad’s heart grows a few sizes like the Grinch’s did, this mom should run for the hills. Hopefully she can get out of this toxic situation for herself and her kids’ sakes.
Before you go, check out some of Reddit’s most coal-worth holiday stories.
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