Every parent has their own views on how to discipline their children, but you might think they'd be a little more forgiving at Christmas time.
Well, apparently not in all cases, as one mum is being heavily criticised online for forcing her son to sleep in a tree house on Christmas eve because he missed his curfew while out on a date.
The mum, who has four kids, including two teenagers, says she's "pretty easy going" as a parent, and doesn't have an awful lot of rules for her children, so long as they're respectful, do their chores and are home by 10pm. Pretty simple, right?
But, despite claiming to not have very many rules, it turns out there are some pretty severe consequences for anyone who dares break any of the mum's conditions.
"My 16-year-old son came home at 11pm last night when the house was already locked up after missing about 10 calls from me. He knocked to get in and I just called him back and told him he could sleep in the tree house and that there were already blankets up there and hopefully this would be a lesson to stick to curfew," she wrote on Reddit's AITA forum on Christmas day.
"He was apparently on a date with someone (whom we haven't met) and didn't realise his phone was set an hour behind. To me, that's all excuses, I told him he had the rest of the night in the cubby to reset his time and we'd see him in the morning.
"I opened the door at 6, nice and early and he came in and went to bed, slept until lunch time, holding his siblings up from opening their gifts because we do it all together as a family. He thanked everyone for his gifts and went back to sleep after lunch."
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The mum's husband later told her she'd overreacted as her son had made an "honest mistake" and was "exhausted from not being able to sleep in the tree house," but she completely disagreed.
She then turned to Reddit to question whether others thought she was in the wrong for locking her son out the house and the majority agreed she was.
"So you locked your minor child outside, in December, on Christmas Eve? Had he called CPS on you they’d have explained why this was wrong," one Reddit user commented.
Another added: "Yes, you overreacted. That's not a healthy solution. Depending on circumstances it could have been dangerous. You can punish with depriving luxuries like a cell phone or eating cake. You shouldn't deprive necessities like food, sleep or warmth.
"Also, you're the one who caused gift giving to get delayed by depriving your son sleep. That's not on him. You should apologise for your misjudgement."
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