Most of us have stories about our parents scolding us when we were little. However, many rarely get the chance to talk about it with our parents because very few of them remember or take responsibility for it. Yet, this influencer from Florida scored a big victory by traumatizing her parents with the same words they used to scold her when she was little. It’s not about getting revenge on our parents, but it is a way for them to understand how their children might have felt at the time. If not, it will be an excellent anecdote.
On TikTok, @wtfaleisa began her video by talking about how her life was growing up, as the daughter of boomer Cuban parents. She also explained how it was challenging for them to understand that their daughter experienced stress and anxiety as a young person. Her parents’ reasoning was that their daughter had clothes, food, and a roof over her head, so according to them, she had everything she needed and therefore had nothing to worry about. Otherwise, these parents, like many others, used the phrase “I’ll give you something to be anxious and stressed about,” a well-known phrase. Just hearing this phrase made many children take a step back and not make another sound.
But the story doesn’t end there, because the influencer went on to explain how — now as a 30-year-old woman — things have changed. According to @wtfaleisa, she arrived home and found her mother looking very worried, who explained that she was highly stressed and anxious. Aleisa responded to her mother by saying, “Don’t do that,” to which her mother began to laugh and then replied, “That’s a funny joke.” The Florida influencer, staring seriously at her mother, replied, “That wasn’t a joke,” which made her traumatized parent back down.
“My mum visited me the other day. She went out onto the balcony to have a quick smoke and left the door open. I instantly knew what I had to say: ‘Hey, I’m not paying to cool the outside, you know‘” commented Ershin, one of several users who shared anecdotes about giving their parents a taste of their own medicine.
Of course, there are many cases in which parents are good and deserve our respect, especially if they take responsibility for their past actions. But there’s nothing wrong with laughing a little at our parents’ expense, especially if it helps heal some niggling past familial trauma.
