
It can be hard for kids to accept a new stepparent. These relationships often take time until they gel, if they ever really do. But when her daughter decided to "prank" her new (young) stepmother by putting her toothbrush in the toilet, her mom thought her ex-husband went way too far to teach her a lesson. Now she's wondering if she was wrong for going off on him for the punishment.
Although they are no longer married, the couple shares two children together -- a 12-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son.

Shortly after their divorce, her husband started dating a new woman "who is fifteen years his junior," she wrote on the Am I the A–hole forum on Reddit. The couple has been married for three years "and she's thirty so it's not like he married some college kid but I still have an issue with her lack of maturity sometimes."
As hard as it was for the adults, it's been even tougher on her daughter.
She doesn't like her stepmom and is in counseling to deal with her jealousy toward her.
"The truth is I don't like [her] very much either but I do expect my kids to be respectful," the mom explained.
Things reached a boiling point when her daughter recently came home in tears.
When she was at her father's house, as a prank she decided to put her stepmother's toothbrush in the toilet. But as she was pulling off her plot, she was caught by her dad, who at first seemed like he was in on the joke.
"He said it was really funny and to let him see the toothbrush," the mom recalled. "He scrubbed the toilet and I guess she thought they were going to prank [her stepmom] together but when he was done he told [daughter] to brush her teeth with it."
She admits her daughter was definitely not right for attempting the prank -- but did this punishment really fit the crime?
The mom wrote that she can't get the image of her daughter "crying and gagging while being forced to use the toothbrush" out of her head.
Her ex then made her daughter tell his wife what she did and told her she had to do chores to earn money to buy her a new toothbrush.
"I’m fine with that but actually making her put it in her mouth p—ed me off," she wrote.
The mom also isn't sure if this is just about her daughter pulling a prank.
Her ex seems very infatuated with his new wife — perhaps favoring her a little too much.
"I called at one in the morning and I could tell I woke him and I went off on him," she wrote. "I told him how selfish he is and how he puts [stepmom] before our kids. Still I feel like some of this was motivated by my own feelings so Am I the A–hole?" she asked.
Commenters agreed that this was a completely inappropriate punishment.
"NTA, that is just horrifying," one commenter wrote. "What she did was wrong, but HE is the adult and the punishment doesn't fit the crime."
"I would call that punishment child abuse, she could've caught something, toilets are disgusting," someone else agreed.
A third person, who identified themselves as a mandated reporter, explained things as they saw it:
"I promise you that this punishment was abusive. If I were to actually know you or your child I'd have a legal and moral obligation to report it. This was so over the line. I think in the future that family counseling with [stepmom] and [daughter] may be worthwhile to try, separate from both parents. I'm so sorry that your ex thought this was an appropriate thing to do. As a parent myself, I'd also be overwhelmingly furious if that happened to my child."
The mom decided to heed their warnings.
On the suggestion of the Reddit commenters, the mom decided to make a police report against her husband to have record of the incident on file. The choice has upset her daughter, who swore she would have never told her mom if she thought it would result in a police report.
"Now I feel conflicted, because [my daughter] absolutely does not want to lose visitation with [her dad]," the mom continued. She texted her ex to clue him in to what she did, but he never responded. On the other hand, his parents have been blowing up her phone "about how I'm an irresponsible mother and they raised [my ex] right."
"His mom said the reason I'm still alone is because I'm so broken and she hopes [my ex and his wife] can save the kids from ending up like me," she added. "I also talked to a friend who is a social worker and she was honest that she doesn't think this incident alone is enough for him to lose custody, but I'm hoping for some sort of punishment."
Regardless, the mom isn't going to give up. "Thank you to everyone who read and commented," she wrote.
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