A parent has been praised after deciding to cancel a family vacation after uncovering a plot by his adult stepchildren to hide his daughter's passport.
In a viral Reddit post shared in the Am I the ******* subforum, user Positive-Elk-8110 said he has one biological daughter, Jessica, 18, as well as two stepdaughters—Monica, 25, and Leah, 28—who live with their parents.
The father said that the family was set to go on a vacation but that Monica and Leah, both single mothers, wanted Jessica to look after their children.
"We were supposed to go last week but when everybody had bagged their bags and was time to go, Jessica found out that she didn't have her passport on her. We searched her bag then went home and searched there. Beth [his wife] and my stepdaughters kept insisting that we go back to the airport or else we'd miss our flight," the father wrote.
"They insisted that Jessica stay at home with the kids. They even told the new babysitter to go home cause she was no longer needed. I refused to go and kept searching for the passport til Monica admitted that she helped Leah hide Jessica's passport to get her to stay home with the kids."
The poster continued: "I was livid I tried to get her to tell me where it was but she said Leah had it, Leah denied so I threatened to cancel the vacation that's when they gave it back. I decided to actually cancel the vacation and blew up at both of them and berated them.
"They stayed upstairs for a while and Beth refused to speak to me and said that I punished my stepdaughters for worrying about their kids and wanting them to stay with someone they know. I got told I overreacted and ruined the trip for everybody," the poster said.
"More than half (56 percent) of adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, compared to 16 percent of adults ages 25 to 34 in 2022," according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Family and relationship therapist Terri DiMatteo of Open Door Therapy told Newsweek: "Blending families in a remarriage situation is a complex and multilayered matter. The situation in this family indicates that underlying issues need addressing.
"The family dynamic suggests that two separate and distinct families cohabitate and are not truly blended. As a result, the people in the home are not functioning as a cohesive, caring family," she said.
DiMatteo continued: "Instead, the two families are separate but are adversarial, as evidenced by the wife's adult daughters behaving underhandedly toward the husband's daughter. If left unchecked, the inappropriate behavior by the wife's adult daughters toward the man's bio daughter is likely to continue. Their behavior in this situation cannot go ignored."
She said the best outcome here would be for the poster and his wife to take charge and remedy the situation. "They need to implement a suitable outcome for the whole family's benefit. That remedy may include having the wife's adult daughters—each a single parent—live independently, although the wife has made a financial contribution to the home's purchase."
DiMatteo said that blending two families is a delicate and intricate process. "As with any family, the couple must lead the way. When children act out and misbehave, the parents must step in, even when the children are adult children."
Since being shared on May 27, the post has received an estimated 36,800 upvotes and 7,700 comments.
The overwhelming number of commenters were supportive of the father's actions and praised him.
Reddit user Intersting_Bug_8878 said: "NTA (not the a******). To be honest, I would have kicked your wife and lazy no-good stepchildren out right then and there and ended the marriage. If they were 12 I might understand this level of entitlement and immaturity. But in their late 20s? And [your wife] should have roasted them for pulling this."
Pomegranteseeds37 said: "Yeah, there is no way the wife wasn't in on this too she absolutely knew about this plan.
Cz1988_ wrote: "This situation is very disturbing. I was abused by my mother's evil second husband and get very triggered by step-parents that have no conscience or moral compass which is clearly the case here."
Newsweek has contacted Positive-Elk-8110 for comment via Reddit.
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