Pulling a prank on your friends and family can only be fun if it's the right amount of playfulness. It's when both the prankster and the target end up laughing after executing the prank. There's a limit to how someone should plan a trick — it's best not to go overboard. If you do, someone could be offended, physically hurt, traumatized, or highly inconvenienced. Although you'll get a good laugh from the result, it's not worth it when the action subtly turns into bullying. You must consider the consequences of your actions instead of using "it's just a prank" to excuse your behavior.

Photo: Pexels/RODNAE Productions

To make prank culture even more toxic, several content creators label themselves as pranksters. How they use their chosen platform normalizes extreme pranks, influencing others to do the same. A lot of people also take an interest in prank videos — leading aspiring content creators to believe that it's the best starting point for them. Just because many people find it hilarious doesn't mean it's excusable. Moreover, children tend to copy such behavior, which is a horrible way to learn to socialize with other people.

Photo: Pexels/Mikhail Nilov

Parents should be held accountable when their children become dangerous pranksters. An unresolved troublesome demeanor can reach adolescence, leading to more problematic situations. They'll grow up inconsiderate of other people's feelings and valuables. A Redditor had this kind of complication with her niece, and she might sue her for it. The Reddit post has been a hot topic among users — OP gained 27.5k upvotes.

It all began with throooowaaaayt's coat, but it wasn't just any ordinary coat. Her mother-in-law gave it to her as a present, and it was expensive. "My MIL gifted me a coat that is worth more than $20k (I saw her wearing it, asked her where she bought it, and she said that it will be my Christmas gift from her)," OP explained. "I didn't know how much it was (I knew it was expensive, but I thought maybe $3k at most). I was visiting my sister last January when my niece saw it, she googled the brand and showed me how much it really was. I won't lie, I didn't wear it after that because I was afraid of ruining it."

Photo: Pexels/Maryia Plashchynskaya

When she finally planned on using it, OP put it on, went out, and then felt something hit her coat. Turns out her sixteen-year-old niece threw a balloon filled with paint on the garment. What makes it more infuriating is that her niece was so unapologetic and laughed hard at her prank. OP's sister took action and grounded her daughter — she even offered to take the coat to the dry cleaners. At first, it seemed like a "normal" prank executed by a teenager, but OP later discovered that her niece did it for content. She found out about her goal after being notified that her niece had uploaded a reel on social media.

Photo: Pexels/Maksim Istomin

"While I was in my car, still in shock BTW, I got an alert that my niece posted a reel; it was of her doing a prank on me, and she said, 'I'm going to hit my aunt's $20k coat with a paint-filled balloon to see how she reacts,'" OP wrote. "I saved it on my phone, sent it to her mom and told her that a week's grounding is not enough. She did not reply, but I saw that my niece took it down (it got less than 5 views by then)."

The paint on the coat couldn't be washed off. OP tried to talk it out with her sister and said her niece should pay her back. The sister didn't take it well and suggested that OP request another coat from her husband.

Their argument ended badly. For this reason, throooowaaaayt warned her sister that she had valid grounds to sue her niece. The prank was certainly inexcusable because the niece intended to make it her online content. She knew the coat was a costly gift from OP's mother-in-law.

"For a prank video. For a sixteen-year-old, she's acting a lot like a six-year-old," ScorchieSong commented. Indeed, the niece was old enough to understand that executing such a prank wouldn't do her any good.

Photo: Pexels/Karolina Grabwoska

"She and her family need to learn the value of money. Since the parents don't feel they should have to repay it, they are equally at fault," Lilitu9Tails wrote. It's clearly a lack of educating their child to respect other people's valuables. They didn't agree with OP's suggestion to sell their child's car to pay her back - it might have been a harsh lesson for a sixteen-year-old, but a lawsuit is a heavier punishment at that age.

Photo: Pexels/EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA

Practical-Big7550 said, "OP's sister has coddled her daughter to the point that she doesn't understand the value of money. Well, it's about time she learned." Instead of receiving lessons from her parents, she had to learn it the hard way, because her aunt is considering suing her. Parents should really watch out for the content their children are consuming. Checking on them from time to time can be vital for their further growth. Most Redditors couldn't help but write lengthy comments to prove a point. Read the whole discussion on Reddit and have some tea while you're at it.