Pranks are a very divisive issue. Some people love ‘em, some people hate ‘em, some see pranksters as bullies in disguise. We think some joking about is fine up to a certain point—so long as the person don’t overstep certain boundaries. Unfortunately, not all pranksters understand that there are limits. Some even go as far as putting someone else’s job in danger.

One mom turned to the AITA subreddit to hear their advice after she got herself involved in a very messy situation at home. Her prankster son tried to get their housekeeper fired by sneaking in his mom’s jewelry into her purse and telling her about it. However, things took an unexpected turn when the mom realized what actually happened.

Scroll down for the full story to uncover how both parents reacted to jewelry ‘theft.’ When you’re done, let us know in the comments what you think and what you would have done if you were one of the parents in this story.

Bored Panda reached out to comedy writer, aspiring pop star, and single mom Ariane Sherine from London for a few comments about the story. “The limits to pranking are when the prank could get yourself or someone else in serious trouble. In this instance, the housekeeper could have gotten a criminal record and been unable to get further work. Housekeepers earn so little as it is that this is seriously irresponsible verging on criminal,” she told us.

A housekeeper found herself being accused of stealing jewelry one day

Image credits: RODNAE Productions (not the actual photo)

Here’s the full story about what happened and how the son of the homeowners was involved

Image credits: Ivan Radic (not the actual photo)

Image credits: number64745834

Bored Panda asked comedy writer Ariane for her take on whether the mom should feel at all guilty for siding with the housekeeper. “Hell no. This boy had a track record of doing similar things and 16 is more than old enough to know better, so to side with him would have been foolish and meant the mom was in denial. Sure, if he hadn’t had form for pulling these stunts, that would have been different, but not in this case,” she shared her opinion with us.

In Ariane’s view, parents need to make the consequences of their kids’ actions very clear to them. “I think explaining the potential consequences of their actions and how serious they could have been is a given, but as this boy was 16 and still doesn’t understand right from wrong I don’t have high hopes for him,” she said. Keep an eye out for Ariane’s debut album, BITTER, which she plans to release later this year.

Redditor u/number64745834’s story got over 25.2k upvotes on the AITA subreddit. Most internet users thought that the mom did the right thing by siding with the housekeeper instead of her son in this case.

In their opinion, just because someone’s family doesn’t automatically make them a saint. Certain boundaries need to be set. Mean-spirited pranks need to be put to rest. Otherwise, what’s the limit, then? How far would the son have to go in order for the parents to finally step in?

Relationship coach Alex Scot explained to Bored Panda during an earlier interview how it is “extremely important” that we have boundaries set up. It’s vital that we have them even with our loved ones.

“Without them, we live our lives at the expense of ourselves. The mindset for many when it comes to setting boundaries is that they feel selfish, so they avoid doing it altogether,” she told us.

“This only causes resentment to build and overwhelm to set in both within the individual and the relationship as a whole. Boundaries are there for us to be able to take care of and to protect ourselves so that we can show up and operate within our lives as successfully as possible.”

However, she noted that we should aim to have flexible boundaries instead of strict ones when dealing with our loved ones. Boundaries that are too strict are unsustainable. We have to be willing to compromise when it comes to our family members.

Many internet users were appalled by what the son did. Here’s what they had to say about the entire messy situation

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