Mom Takes Away Son's Designer Clothes As Punishment For Bullying 'Less Wealthy' Kids

Many parents opt for the "taking away" of items or privileges for an extended period of time as a form of punishment. Some take away their phones, while others take away a gaming system. My mom always used to take away the internet plug (back in the day when we all used dial-up to get on AOL).

When our kids do something that impacts another person, we try to have them learn how those people would feel if they were in their shoes. It's the best way to teach them "life lessons."

The mom asked the Reddit community if she was an a-hole for taking away her son's "signifiers of wealth at school," such as designer clothes and sneakers, and being driven in nice cars because he was bullying other students for being less wealthy.

"I am a mother to a teenage boy. The father is hardly in the picture, he pays child support and that's about it, he is very absent otherwise.

Another relevant thing, I'm pretty well off, I work in tech. my son's father is extremely wealthy and the court order for child support is enough to pay for the best for my son. He goes to a fairly competitive private school, is in a lot of extracurriculars that cost a decent bit, etc.," she wrote.

"I found out from school administration just this month that my son had been bullying several students for being less wealthy... for being dropped off at school in a budget sedan, for having name brands clothes that are not as expensive as other name brands... I was appalled by his behaviors," she said.

"He has no job, no savings, no investments, no wealth of his own. By totally random chance he happened to be born into good circumstances. And that's it.

The school admin and I arranged an apology between him and all the kids he was bullying," she wrote.

"I also decided that this year, we're thrift shopping for clothes. No more brand name sneakers or clothes.

And rather than driving him to school and activities in the porche [sic] or the jaguar, I'm driving him everywhere in my '92 jeep that was one of my first cars that I mostly keep around for nostalgia and off-roading. It's really beaten up, I've rolled it, taken off the doors, tried to fix the paint with rattle cans at one point lol (young and dumb at that point)

And for any activities he joins, he can borrow club equipment instead of getting his own bought," she added.

"He was really upset about it all, especially being driven to school and activities in the jeep. He said that it was causing problems with his friends, he was looking bad at school, his friends' parents didn't want their kids getting in such an old vehicle with no doors. He also said that it was embarrassing him for me to pretend he's poor..." the mom said.

"His dad, who overall has been very absent, got upset with me because apparently word had gotten around his circles that his son was being driven around town in "a junker" and that I was making him use the club gear for sports instead of his own. And that was not a fair punishment because "impressions matter" and it will affect the rest of his life," she wrote.

"You are teaching him a valuable lesson for the rest of his life. It’s never okay to make fun of someone based on their families level of income. In summary this is a great punishment that might help him see things from other peoples point of view," one person commented.

"The entire year may be a little harsh, but you know what else is harsh? BULLYING. Your son was displaying awful behavior and you are counteracting it with a very relevant punishment. And if his 'friends' are excluding him because of his perceived wealth, they aren't really his friends," another wrote.

What do you think of this parenting decision?