Parents Reveal The Moment They Knew They’d Raised a Monster

As a parent, you work hard to make sure that your child has the best life possible. You try to raise them right, teach them manners, and help them tell the difference between good and bad. But sometimes, no matter what you do, your child grows up to be less than awesome.

The following stories describe the exact moment that parents from all over realized that the child they were raising was a monster. Whether the child always acted like a little terror from early on, or the parents’ teaching tactics left something to be desired, these kids became bona fide brats. Maybe it’s not their fault, but maybe it is? If you don’t want to be scared away from having kids, don’t keep reading…

Sociopath Son

I firmly believe my oldest is a sociopath, or at the very least in training to become one. He has no conscience and hasn’t since he was old enough to feel guilt. He is 30, twice-divorced for beating his wives, and totally ignores his daughters while giving everything possible to his son.

I blamed myself for years, but my younger two are so different from my oldest. I just don’t know if it’s my fault or not. Reddit User: cpbaby1968

Calling CPS

My 11-year-old son recently called 911 and said that I slapped him. And it was so well-orchestrated too; he even took a picture of himself with a red mark on his face (a self-inflicted one). CPS came, but eventually, it was proven he was lying (though he still won’t admit it)….

A few months later, he told his dad I forced him to make a naughty gesture, take a picture, and send it to him. He lives with his dad now and can’t come back here until I get a camera system. Reddit User: bluedyou

Just Wanted the Attention

Not the mom here, but the aunt. My sister’s youngest daughter is a psychopath, and my sister and brother-in-law indulge every crazy behavior she has. Last year, my sister had to get a tube put into her kidney that went out of her body and to a bag while her ureter healed….

She’d been home from the hospital for two days when her youngest daughter yanked the tube out of her body and forced her into emergency surgery. The kid’s excuse? She knew it would hurt, but she wanted the attention her mom was getting. And her parents thought it was cute! Reddit User: kashmira_norman

Mommy’s Crying

My wife and I had a very heated argument once. Our daughter overheard us while we were talking and came into the room just as things hit their peak. My wife rushed into the bathroom crying, and I was left listening to her sob on the other side of the door.

Our daughter looked up at me with a smile and said, “Mommy’s crying,” then proceeded to laugh loud enough for my wife to hear. Reddit User: PallidaCulus

Didn’t Believe Him

When I was a teenager, my friend’s little brother had a ton of psychopathic tendencies. Once, he put their dog in a cooler and suffocated it because “it was annoying.” Another time, when I was at their house, he handed me a knife and then ran into the kitchen and sliced his own arm….

Even when his parents saw me holding the knife, they didn’t believe him. And it was all because they knew that he was a monster in training. Reddit User: AwesleyK

Burning Down the House

My brother was always naughty: shoplifting, mouthing off at school, the usual (or so they thought). But I think the moment my parents realized he was a genuinely bad person was when he stole a bunch of stuff out of an old guy’s cabin and then burned it down so he wouldn’t get caught.

I mean, who does that kind of thing just to hide some silly evidence? It’s actually pretty scary when you think about it. Reddit User: guntergunthergoonter

This Chilling Conversation

I had a conversation with my (then) 4.5-year-old daughter. She asked, “Mommy, do you love me?” I replied, “Of course, my darling! I’ll love you forever and always, no matter what!” With the sweetest smile on her face and a serious look in her eye, she replied, “Even after I kill [little brother’s name]?”

At the time, she had recently learned to tie knots. I’d had to take her jump ropes away, as I’d found her with one tied around her little brother’s neck, pretending he was her horse! Reddit User: dancinginside

A Tiny Con Man

My son looked at me one day and blithely told me he wanted to play the documentary entitled “Under the Curve” for his classmates because he was trying to convince them that the world’s flat. He admitted he knows it’s not, but he was actively trying to con his classmates into thinking it is.

I knew right then and there that I’d have some trouble on my hands with this one. And I still do. Reddit User: AngryZen_Ingress

But Why?

When my son was 13 or 14, we were talking about how kids become caregivers to their parents to some degree when their parents get older. You know, when they’re really old and can’t do much for themselves or are sick. He understood the concept but then said something I’d never forget.

My son offhandedly remarked that he’d be looking for the cheapest nursing home at which to park me. I’m making other arrangements just in case. Reddit User: shugerbooger

But How Do Ducks Work?

My 7-year-old is special, in every sense of the word. He is highly intelligent and very social. Early one Sunday morning, he came up to me, out of the blue, and said, “Dad, how do ducks work?” Before I could work out what he wanted to know, he said, “I guess if I open one up, I’ll find out?” and walked away.

I spent a good hour looking for ducks and watched him carefully when he went near the kitchen utensils. It was scary and funny at the same time. Reddit User: GaryGronk

When Timeouts Don’t Work

When my daughter was naughty as a preschooler, we’d put her in the kitchen for a timeout. She started to ask to go to the toilet as soon as she was put in there. At first, we let her go, but soon it was clear she was just using the toilet to get out of the timeout early.

The first time I told her she could go after her timeout, she peed on the kitchen floor in retaliation. She’s 15 now and has a terrible temper; living with her is like being in an abusive relationship. Reddit User: thewestisawake

What Have They Been Teaching You?

My 3-year-old granddaughter was visiting us, and we were playing together. With a huge smile on her face, she said, “Pawpaw, I’m gonna stab you in the mouth.” I stared at her in shock, then asked, “Why my mouth?” Now I know this was a bizarre conversation to be having, but I really wanted to know why.

She looked at me with the sweetest little smile that would light up the world and said, “So no one can hear you scream, silly.” I didn’t know how to feel after that. Reddit User: mbell714

At Least It’s Just a Game

My daughter asked me to get her the Sims. I was surprised she’d heard of it, but she said her friend told her it’s much more satisfying to kill people in that game than the pigs she kills in Minecraft. I asked her if her main reason for playing video games was so she could kill things.

She said, “Well, it keeps me from doing it in real life, so I don’t see the problem with that.” Then she winked at me. Reddit User: billbapapa

He Gets What He Wants

One of my son’s teachers came up to give him a hug. He brushed her off at first, then gave her such a big hug. She was all happy and swung him around and tickled him, which was what he was going for. He knew exactly how to get what he wanted from her.

He’s 3. He knows he’s cute, likes attention from girls, and isn’t afraid to use his looks to get what he wants. I’m in trouble when he hits his teen years…. Reddit User: [redacted]

Actually Satan

Once, while my aunt and I were cleaning out her house, her oldest son convinced his younger brother (who was four at the time) to drink a glass of bleach all in one go. The poor kid took a large gulp and immediately realized he shouldn’t have done that, despite being told to.

He had to undergo a gastric lavage and suffered from serious burns to his mouth and esophagus while his older brother was laughing his head off. My aunt and uncle still think his behavior is acceptable because “he’ll grow out of it.” He’s said he wanted to kill someone because it would be fun to watch them struggle while taking their last breath. Reddit User: xqnlz

The Soap Situation

When my son was about 10 years old, he said the f-word. My wife had warned him about swearing and said that he had to bite down on a bar of soap to “wash his mouth out.” As soon as she said it, he ran into the kitchen and started eating or drinking every kitchen liquid or soap he could get his hands on.

All the while yelling, “Is this what you want? Do you like this?” My wife managed to get him away from the soap and rinsed out his mouth, then sent him to his room. She doesn’t threaten the “wash your mouth out with soap” punishment anymore. Reddit User: CapturedDarkness

It’s What the Cool Kids Do

My son had a plastic baseball bat, and one day I walked outside to see my 5-year-old daughter screaming and running from him. He was chasing her and hitting her with the bat whenever he could. My wife took her inside to get an ice pack, and I asked him why he was hitting her.

He said, “Because I’m a cool kid, and cool kids show their siblings who the leader is, daddy.” A month later, I found him chasing his sister again, this time in a ninja costume, hitting her repeatedly with a plastic sword. I asked him why he was doing it. “Because it’s fun.” Reddit User: AdUdEiNaMoOoD

When D&D Goes Too Far

I was the dungeon master in a Dungeons and Dragons game with both of my 11-year-olds. I know, strange right? After knocking out a goblin, they (twin boys) decided to cast a spell that would spare the dying, which stabilized it. This was so they could torture the goblin for information.

Every time he got knocked out, they would stabilize and revive him, over and over. I thought for sure they’d grow up to be serious trouble. Reddit User: RoboNinjaPirate

Beyond Help

I knew my daughter was a monster when she tried to strangle her sister when she was still a teenager. A few weeks later, she lied to the school about being abused by me and her father, which led to a full-blown investigation and her eventual removal from our home; she found a way to fake some of her accusations.

While packing up her things, we found she’d been stealing alcohol and other much less legal items. She can’t live with us anymore. Reddit User: Deshra

An Odd Fascination

My 6-year-old has always had weird interests. She asked me to show her pictures of what’s in our bodies. When I showed her diagrams, she said, “No, I mean inside of a real body. Like a dead person.” She also always asks to stop so she can look at dead animals on the road.

When my childhood dog died, she tried to sneak and look inside the bag while I was bawling. We’re really pushing for the medical field…. Reddit User: monsterisincorrect

Don’t Kill People Just Because You Don’t Like Them

My five-year-old was eating some chocolate, and I told him not to get any on the floor because Sadie, my family’s dog, would eat it. Him: Mommy I thought you didn’t like Sadie. Me: Well yeah, I don’t. Him: And you don’t want her to die? Me: Well, you can dislike someone, but that doesn’t mean you hate them enough that you want them to die. Him: Oh. So it’s okay if you don’t like someone… you don’t have to kill them or anything, right?

Had he just been going around expecting to kill people he doesn’t like all that time? I’ll never know. Reddit User: [redacted]

A Flaming Christmas

I took my son to the movies. He refused to change and wore his pajamas. The theater I took him to has 2 big flights of stairs (gold railings, red carpet, ultra nice), and while buying tickets, I turned around to see him Sparta kick a 6-year-old down the flight of stairs and then scream and spit at the mother. I was in horror, and both the mother and I froze, and he just sat there laughing.

During Christmas Eve, he proceeded to try to light our Christmas tree on fire and break every present; luckily, my dad caught him in time. Reddit User: Jsplit

What He Deserved

My 5-year-old brother called my mother something…very unsavory and got a timeout. I told him he got what he deserved, and he got this crazed look on his face and told me, “Now you’re going to get what you deserve!” Then he pulled out a pocket knife and started chasing me with it. My parents took him to the cops to scare him.

The sheriff walked up to my little brother to talk to him, but when he hunched over to get closer, my brother just socked him square in the mouth. Reddit User: [redacted]

Swallow the Steak Knife

Not the parent, but my mom told me that when she was pregnant with me, my half-brother tried to convince her to swallow a steak knife so that it would cut me up and she would have an abortion. Then when I was I think seven, he turned on the shower and put on a movie for me and my sister….

Then he snuck out while he was supposed to be babysitting to go pick up his girlfriend in my dad’s car, which he then wrecked. Reddit User: [redacted]

Paint Thinner

I’m not a parent, but an older brother of a young sibling. He poured paint thinner all over my mom’s flowers one summer after my dad accidentally left it on the deck (we were repainting the deck). More happy that he didn’t drink it, but it was definitely an “oh my god” moment.

She probably spends 100 hours+ and a lot of money gardening every spring/summer, so it was a big deal. My younger sibling knew this and definitely did it on purpose. Reddit User: [redacted]

The Spoiled Trampoline Kid

My three-year-old was given a small Fisher-Price trampoline for his birthday. It’s like three feet in diameter. A few months later, we got invited to take him to a giant indoor warehouse that is wall to wall trampolines. So my wife turns to my son and says, “Hey buddy, do you want to go to the trampoline place?”

Without missing a beat, my kid rolls his eyes at her, jerks his thumb towards the Fisher-Price one, and says, in the most condescending tone a three-year-old could muster, “I have one.” Reddit User: [redacted]

Into the Trash Can

My 5- and 10-year-olds were having an epic verbal war in the living room that ended abruptly after I shouted various generic parenting noises in their direction. I heard my 10-year-old go to his room and slam the door. My 5-year-old son then walked confidently into the kitchen, took a picture of his brother off the fridge, and proceeded to dispose of it in the bin.

Utterly jerk behavior of course, but honestly I was secretly extremely impressed at the passive aggression. Reddit User: [redacted]

Choosing a Superpower

My son enjoyed hitting the other kids at school with pencils and showing off. He is very smart and talented, and he made sure everyone knew it. Didn’t really think much of it, but one day in class, he and some friends were talking about what they would do if they got superpowers (this was 7th grade).

He said, “I don’t know. Rape people?” I…don’t have words. I don’t even know how to take that as a joke, and I don’t think he meant it as one. Reddit User: reverb98

Potty Training

At about 15 months old, my daughter was beginning her potty training phase. She discovered that we liked it when she peed in the potty…regarding which she immediately decided the potty could be replaced by any container she could find. The next day, she delicately removed all the clothes from her dresser drawer, pulled out the drawer, then sat and peed in said drawer.

I’d… never thought I’d pour pee out of a dresser drawer before. She’s 9 now, and she is still just as nuts. Reddit User: [redacted]

When She Was Born, All That Attention Went Away

When I was born, I had two teenage sisters and oodles of aunts to smother me with attention. Three years later, my little sister was born, and all that went away. There is a family story that a few months after my little sister was born, my parents were out and my grandmother was babysitting. She caught me going into the baby’s room with a claw-hammer.

When she asked what I was doing, I just stared silently at her for several seconds then answered sullenly “nothing” and dropped the claw-hammer to the floor. Reddit User: [redacted]

I Knew When He Was Little

When my son was in pre-school/kindergarten, he was banned from YMCA camps for his behavior, and they had never banned someone before. He brought a (plastic, thankfully) knife to school and threatened to cut all of the teachers. Told other kids he would burn their homes down after first setting fire to all their toys.

He heard a teacher calming another student who was afraid of bees, and the teacher said she was allergic but had never been stung because she didn’t scare bees. He came up to her and told her he was going to put a wasp nest in her car, lock her in it, and watch her die. Reddit User: ArtEclectic

I Would Never Throw You in the Ocean

When I was 5, the night before my younger brother came home from the hospital (being born), I had a dream that I was holding him on the upper deck of a cruise ship, and I threw him off into the ocean. So when he came home and I got to hold him, I saw he was a harmless baby.

I decided my dream was nonsense and said, “I would never throw you in the ocean!” You can imagine the looks on my parents’ faces. Reddit User: [redacted]

I’m Raising a Maniac

When my son was 6 months old, he had a nasty virus that he gave to me. It was night number two of no sleep, and he was crying inconsolably while I tried to rock him to sleep. I was so exhausted and miserable that I started sobbing too. He stopped crying, looked at me, and laughed.

My first thought was “Oh good, I’m raising a maniac.” At least he stopped crying, and we both finally got some rest. Reddit User: [redacted]

They Were Shouting in a Panic

Not a parent, but when I was a toddler, I’d scare the life out of my parents by hiding from them and not making a noise, even when they were shouting for me in a panic. For instance, I had this Fisher-Price thing. And it had a cupboard. I was small enough to hide in that little cupboard.

It took a while for my parents to find me in there, and there’s a picture of me smiling in it without a care in the world after they’d found me. Reddit User: [redacted]

She Gets What She Wants

My two-year-old daughter would see a kid in a store playing with something she wanted and say, “Your mom’s looking for you.” Every time, the other kid would walk away from the toys and she would get to play with them. At 3, we were at a pool with older kids. She told me she wanted the pool to herself.

She walked over and asked who was the tallest, because tallest was in charge. The kids jumped out of the pool to measure each other and fight. She got the pool to herself. Reddit User: [redacted]

Doesn’t Play Well With Others

My kid is 3 and has rages where she tries to hurt people, destroys stuff, says she wants to kill us/her brother/etc. It’s scary. And she’s so little that no psych in the area will see her (and we aren’t exactly in a position to travel). Plus our situation with insurance is a mess so we can’t afford treatment anyway even if we had access to it. She likely has autism (as do her siblings), but that’s clearly not the only thing going on.

And these periods of aggression are cyclical. She’ll have a few good weeks or months where she isn’t that bad followed by her being impossibly angry and defiant and anxious for who knows how long. Reddit User: John__Batman

Doll Head Trophies

My mother walked into the room my brother and I shared as small children. He had taken off 4 of my dolls’ heads and stuck them on the doll’s canopy bed posts like trophies. Then, since he’d already been warned off of taking things from the fridge after the throwing food out the window incident and the orange toilet clogging incident, he used some pink, liquid fabric softener to spill around it.

Being that the pink was closest to blood, of course. He just had this eerie obsession with the macabre. Reddit User: [redacted]

Strangers Are Bad

I was at the bank, and I heard the guy at the other teller say, “That kid just kicked me.” Turns out, my four-year-old daughter kicked him because he was a stranger and “strangers are bad.” Another time, we were riding the train at Disneyland back to the main gate to go back to our hotel.

Apparently her revenge to this was to cower under one of the benches and say, “Don’t hit me, Mommy!” I never hit her in her life. Reddit User: [redacted]

Daddy Fell Asleep

It was becoming crystal clear from the time he was one and a half. There’s a video of him and I playing with each other, and then I pretended to go to sleep on the floor. While videotaping it, my wife says, “Uh oh, Daddy fell asleep!” and then you can clearly see him thinking while hovering over me.

Then he slapped the crap out of my face. Just an old-school pimp slap. Nothing he was ever taught, just something he knew to do on his own. Reddit User: [redacted]