I Refuse to Let My Stepdaughter Mock My Menopause, So I Gave Her a Reality Check

Sometimes our kids forget boundaries, especially when social media is involved. They think it’s okay to post videos of you without asking. And that’s what happened to Kelsey. Her stepdaughter thought that posting her in a vulnerable moment was fine, until it wasn’t.

Here is Kelsey’s story.

Dear Bright Side,

My stepdaughter loves posting on TikTok. Anything that can potentially go viral, she posts.

So, one day, I was having a hot flash outside and it was really cold. So some steam came off around my head. My stepdaughter thought it was hilarious and took a video of it. I told her not to post it, but she did anyway.

I was mad at her and confiscated her phone. People were leaving some mean comments that were hard to read. Someone said, “This mom is pathetic, who lets herself look like that?”

But, I didn’t let it get to me. I made my stepdaughter take down the video, despite many protests.

I told my husband about what happened, and he sided with my stepdaughter, saying, “What’s the big deal, it’s just a little steam.” That response really hurt. Now, I’m not sure if I was too harsh to take her phone away.

What do you think?

Kelsey Y.

Your stepdaughter needed a consequence.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Kelsey. Your stepdaughter needed to learn that posting a video without consent is a really big deal. You were uncomfortable and told her explicitly not to post it, yet she did. She needs to know that in the real world, posting videos without consent can hold even worse consequences than having your phone confiscated.

Your husband should’ve supported you.

Your husband’s lack of support only made you look like a drama queen in front of your stepdaughter’s eyes. Consequently, she’ll take your words less seriously and respect you less. Your husband needs to know that and, in the future, if he expressed any contradiction to your words, he should do so in private.

You weren’t too harsh.

If your stepdaughter is still mad about the whole issue, you can try to ask her how would she feel if you posted a humiliating video of her online, and it got viral, plus had mean comments. Maybe then, she’d be more sympathetic.

Kids need to experience consequences for their actions. Otherwise, when they grow up, they’ll lose their sense of accountability. If kids don’t know when they’re wrong, they’ll make your life much harder than it needs to be. Just look at how these kids ruined a family vacation.