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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Pranks

69 replies

OrlaOrchid · 04/05/2022 08:58

As a kid, I used to play pranks, sometimes on friends or my sisters or cousins. They all pranked me too, it was fun and everyone did it. Ds seems to take after his me and loves to hatch an elaborate plan for a prank. AIBU to think that planning and playing pranks is a pretty normal part of growing up and harmless?

OP posts:
Celticdawn5 · 04/05/2022 09:05

It’s definitely not harmless. Why humiliating someone is classed as fun is beyond me.

Original poster
OrlaOrchid · 04/05/2022 09:08

It was very common when I grew up Confused

OP posts:
user75 · 04/05/2022 09:08

It depends on the prank and the person being pranked. If everyone laughs yes it's fun but often in my childhood 'pranks' were my robust siblings ways of getting away with bullying me.
Prank 1. My pregnant mum mashed up a Milky Way and gave it to my 2 year old brother. Then sat him on the floor and shouted 'oh god, that's disgusting' we ran in and said 'what?' 'Look he's eating cat poo get it off him' we walk over and smell chocolate- hilarious.
Prank 2. My brother propped a bucket full of water above the door. I am heading to a party and walk threw. It crashed down nearly knocking me out and soaking me. I come round on the floor surrounded by my entire family screaming 'haha prank, joke! We got you'
I only had one set of decent clothes so had to wear my old cords to the party which was embarrassing and I had a huge lump on my head. Just abusive, really.

jackstini · 04/05/2022 09:09

Depends entirely on the prank and the person - people have very different boundaries and senses of humour

A few might be funny to some, most are just not funny, pathetic, annoying and some are clearly abusive, humiliating and downright nasty

user75 · 04/05/2022 09:09
  • through!
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 04/05/2022 09:10

If it is genuinely harmless... its fine. But its easy to stray over the boundary into unfunny.

For example...
A ties Bs shoelaces together when she's not wearing them. She realises, unties them. Minor inconvenience.
A ties Cs shoelaces together while wearing them. He rralises he can't move his feet. Annoying.
A ties Ds shoelaces together. Doesn't realise, stands, trips and knocks their head. Harmful.

SD1978 · 04/05/2022 09:10

If both find it funny- fine. If the other party doesn't then it's not.

FatOaf · 04/05/2022 09:11

"Pranksters" are 24-carat twats.

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2022 09:12

Pranks can be funny, malicious or downright cruel.

roosnunlilei · 04/05/2022 09:12

Why do you ask? Has someone suggested it is not harmless? I would listen to them.

ShadowoftheFall · 04/05/2022 09:15

This is not the kind of humour I understand. It depends upon a victim, and as previously stated it is usually indistinguishable from bullying. In my family we laugh together at things we all find amusing. We don’t single someone out and ridicule them.

7Worfs · 04/05/2022 09:15

Pranking is prioritising your own amusement at other people’s expense. At best lacks empathy, at worst it’s sociopathic.

ImInStealthMode · 04/05/2022 09:16

Depends on the prank and who it's being played on. If it's likely to upset, frighten or humiliate the prankee then it's not funny.

DP and I will often use the Alexa app to switch lights on and off in the room the other one is in. Harmless and makes us both giggle. If he jumped out and tried to scare me though I'd LTB be very angry with him.

ImInStealthMode · 04/05/2022 09:16

Depends on the prank and who it's being played on. If it's likely to upset, frighten or humiliate the prankee then it's not funny.

DP and I will often use the Alexa app to switch lights on and off in the room the other one is in. Harmless and makes us both giggle. If he jumped out and tried to scare me though I'd LTB be very angry with him.

hesbeen2021 · 04/05/2022 09:32

My 8 year old GS who has ASD enjoyed playing silly pranks for a few months after watching stupid youtube videos but grew out of it. DD didn't encourage or discourage just ignored really.
Adults who play pranks always seem to be the same sort of people who enjoy You've been framed, think public farting is funny and that children enjoy being tickled

AssignedBlobbyAtBirth · 04/05/2022 09:35

If you are so confident that it is harmless why are you asking the question here🤔

steppemum · 04/05/2022 09:44

as pp have said, depends on the context.

I think families often have 'in jokes' which can be like pranks and as long as everyone is on board, that is fine.

But as a youngest child with two older brothers, I can say that 'pranks' was really just another form of teasing, and I can remember the shear RAGE at how powerless I was to stop them, and how out of control I felt.

I find adult pranks not funny. I know that there are some groups where it is the done thing within the group, and that is of course up to them.

It is a real problem when the prank goes outside the family and the 'group' and then it is such a fine line between being picked on and a prank, that it should be avoided at all costs

Daenerys77 · 04/05/2022 10:34

OrlaOrchid · 04/05/2022 09:08

It was very common when I grew up Confused

Lots of things were common when I was growing up, including sexual harassment of women at work, public persecution of racial and sexual minority groups and the boiling of vegetables until they were soggy. Being used to something from an early age does not make it OK.

steppemum · 04/05/2022 10:43

Daenerys77 · 04/05/2022 10:34

Lots of things were common when I was growing up, including sexual harassment of women at work, public persecution of racial and sexual minority groups and the boiling of vegetables until they were soggy. Being used to something from an early age does not make it OK.

Show quote history

your soggy vegetables made me spit our my tea 😂😂😂

LemonDrizzles · 04/05/2022 11:46

Really really not harmless

Original poster
OrlaOrchid · 04/05/2022 12:51

So IABU, I take that.

A boy at school has told ds that he is weird because DS loves to plan harmless pranks in minute detail and get his friends involved, it's like a fun game to him. DS has 100% no ill intentions and or ill feeling against the people he pranks, he simply enjoys the planning and imagining how fun it will be. It's stuff like 'let's make Ollie believe that Max has hurt himself by putting red paint on his face, Max has to lie on the floor and cry and shout' stuff like that.

If it's so bad and kids think DS is a bit weird Hmm what shall I tell DS? He's 10, a bit immature for his age and really cannot see the harm in this as no-one gets hurt and nothing gets damaged, it's entertaining to him. What he finds most fun is the planning. He should probably be a film director for action movies 😂.

OP posts:
OverByYer · 04/05/2022 12:54

7Worfs · 04/05/2022 09:15

Pranking is prioritising your own amusement at other people’s expense. At best lacks empathy, at worst it’s sociopathic.

This 100%.
i like a laugh and a joke but pranks are laughing at someone else’s expense.

I can’t bear all the internet ‘pranksters’, just grow up.

LittleScottieDog · 04/05/2022 12:58

"it's entertaining to him"

It says it all, really. It may entertain him, but is he entertaining other people or embarrassing them?

I hated pranks being played on me when I was younger. I still do, really, but I've learnt to force myself to smile because otherwise you're viewed as being a spoilsport or too sensitive.

I think you need to help your DS see that not everyone likes having pranks played on them, and that by continuing to do so, he is perhaps upsetting them. Maybe if he has a friend or family member who doesn't mind and pays them back, he could continue to prank them. But only if they really don't mind.

Does your DS like it when people play pranks on him? Maybe you could do it to him and he could do it within the household only?

godmum56 · 04/05/2022 13:02

OrlaOrchid · 04/05/2022 12:51

So IABU, I take that.

A boy at school has told ds that he is weird because DS loves to plan harmless pranks in minute detail and get his friends involved, it's like a fun game to him. DS has 100% no ill intentions and or ill feeling against the people he pranks, he simply enjoys the planning and imagining how fun it will be. It's stuff like 'let's make Ollie believe that Max has hurt himself by putting red paint on his face, Max has to lie on the floor and cry and shout' stuff like that.

If it's so bad and kids think DS is a bit weird Hmm what shall I tell DS? He's 10, a bit immature for his age and really cannot see the harm in this as no-one gets hurt and nothing gets damaged, it's entertaining to him. What he finds most fun is the planning. He should probably be a film director for action movies 😂.

So hecwants Ollie to be scared/upset? Or he wants Ollie to rush for a teacher and be humilated? I don't call any of that harmless and would be redirecting his creativity, also talking to him about how he would feel if he was the butt of the "prank" If he doesn't learn to moderate his humour I fear that one of his bictims will haul off and thump him.

godmum56 · 04/05/2022 13:03

"Victims"