The holidays can bring up some seriously stressful family issues. Thankfully for this struggling aunt, the Reddit community is always willing and ready to weigh in on tricky situations, such as this one involving a woman’s niece.
The writer shared that her 16-year-old daughter Laura has been “tormented” by her teenage cousin Rachel over the years and the family has attempted to avoid extensive time together.
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Should this woman call the police on her niece after a physical altercation between the niece and the woman’s daughter got out of control?
However, things quickly came to a head when they all attended a family Christmas party.
“My parents are going away for Christmas, so before they did they hosted an early Christmas party at their home, which my whole family went to, including me and my husband and our 16-year-old daughter Laura.”
The woman goes on to share that her daughter Laura is excelling in the world of boxing.
“Laura took up boxing last year and has progressed really well. She’s going to compete at a higher level next year and her coach is extremely proud of her. My sister has insisted that the boxing is nothing more than ‘a phase’ and has gone out of her way to downplay it in favour of her daughter’s academic stuff.”
The moment the two girls were alone at the holiday party, things got physical.
“At my parents’ place, Laura went to sort out some presents under the tree, and Rachel followed her. She was wearing stiletto high heels, and when Laura had her hand on the floor Rachel stamped on it. She was in agony.”
The injury has now threatened Laura’s future in boxing and this mom is livid.
“We went to the hospital, and after a follow-up visit to the doctor today Laura needs extensive physio, and will not be able to box for an indefinite period. She’s in floods of tears because of this.”
Now the woman wants to escalate matters by calling the police on her niece.
“My husband wants to tell the police and I do too. I warned my sister about this, and she broke down crying too, saying that her daughter’s teachers have encouraged her to apply to the top universities because they think she’s got a good chance of getting in, and that if she ends up with a criminal record then that will be ruined.”
The mom goes on to tell the Reddit community that she thinks the teenager should face the consequences of her actions.
“Frankly Rachel took something that my daughter loves away from her and left her in huge amounts of pain. She shouldn’t just have her chances ruined, she should get locked up. I know it sounds awful of me but she did an awful thing and needs to face the consequences. Laura is utterly heartbroken and Rachel’s parents won’t punish her.”
The Reddit community was divided, with some saying that involving the police would be taking things way too far and others agreeing that Rachel should be held accountable for her actions.
“You should have immediately reported it to the police, although in my experience, they won’t do a thing about it,” one said. “Definitely file a police report. Even if nothing comes of it, it’s on record and can be used against the sociopath when she does it again to someone else.”
A different take from another commenter: “The police aren’t going to care or do anything about a situation easily written off an accident. It’s your job to protect your child. Why do you keep bringing her into situations where you know she will be bullied and tormented, according to your own words? You still didn’t say anything in your post about cutting your sister and her family out of your life. Refuse to attend events where they are. See your parents separately. Protect your child.”
What do you think? Should this mom call the police on her niece, or is that taking things too far?