Is this a normal childhood prank or is this kid unhinged?

[Pointedpotter]

A few weeks ago DH, 2 dc age 7 & 8 & I were round at a friend’s for lunch. Our kids were playing down the hall with their kids, a 9 yo boy and a 7 yo girl, while the adults were in the lounge. My friend, their mum, went to check on them at one point and I heard a gasp and then my friend screaming “why would you do something so horrible, you little shits!” I’ve never, ever heard her talk like this to the kids before and she sounded panicked so we all went running and the 4 of them had put ketchup all over themselves and were lying on the floor posed like they’d been murdered! By the time myself and dh & friend’s partner got there they were all sitting up talking but I will admit it looked like blood and if I was my friend I probably would’ve fallen for it too. It transpired it was the 7 yo daughter of my friend’s idea of a prank and she convinced the rest of them to join in. No idea where she got such a morbid and IMO extremely cruel idea for a prank from at such a young age. She’s always seemed like a very normal 7-year-old. The fact she did this to her own parents and talked my DDs into doing it too has creeped me out a bit though and I’m worried about the influence she might be having on my DDs. Am I overreacting and is this a fairly normal childhood prank in bad taste? Or should I be worried she’s a psychopath in the making?!

When I was about 8, me and my older sister lay on our driveway pretending to be dead 🤣 lots of cars slowed down! My mum was not happy when she came out.

I think it's quite funny. It won't be that deep to a 7 year old.

When I was a similar age I used to write 'help' in the condensation in the car window on the motorway and roleplay being kidnapped 🙈 I grew up to be perfectly normal!

I also used to duck under my window and throw random objects into the air to try and make my neighbour think the house was haunted 😂

My eldest ds (who’s perfectly fine, btw!) staged a car crash involving himself, his upturned Little Tikes car and some ketchup when he was only about 3 or 4! I was a bit taken aback to come across the accident scene unawares, but so impressed by his ingenuity that I didn’t even get cross about the ketchup all over the carpet!

To be honest for me this is pretty grim behaviour.

The festival really doesn't revolve around blood and gore.

We used to do things like that all the time. Young children don't understand how adults think nor how utterly shocking it would be for a parent to think their kid is dead - they just see the joke.
I'm not a psychopath.

When I was around 10, my parents would leave me for an hour to go to the supermarket.

I used to lie at the top of the stairs sort of half hanging down pretending to be dead.

i used to practice slowing my breath down and holding my breath in case they decided to check for signs of life when they returned 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think it's a little unusual for the age group, but pretty funny really.

I'd be annoyed by the mess and the waste of ketchup to be honest (food waste just really grates on me) but, especially with Halloween coming up, I would see it as a harmless joke otherwise to be honest.

I also think blaming this younger kid is a little harsh - if it's as bad as you say then the older ones should know better and should have discouraged her m, enthusiasticallly joined in.

Anyway try not to worry. Everyone is ok, no harm done.

I'd be a little worried if they came up with it out of nowhere, but there's a 99 % chance they saw it on TikTok, YouTube, etc and copied it.

Ds and his friend did this and then I had to send a video of me pretending I had just found them

don’t worry a warning went out before

I still have the video I think it’s funny

Yeah my nephew did the same to his parents @MolkosTeenageAngst

The cost of the ketchup! Hopefully they used an own brand!
I pretended to fall and put fake blood all down my arm at around age 8 maybe 9 ?
I’m the youngest of 6 and my poor DM was so upset and worried, children are heartless!

I'd just be annoyed if they got ketchup allover the carpet.

I once pretended to my fiancé that I’d chopped my finger off when I was cutting up a cherry cheesecake. He fell for it 😂 I was 25 …

Your friend screams “you little shits” at her young kids and you think it’s her child who’s the problem?

It’s entirely normal and harmless for kids to joke about gruesome and morbid stuff. It always has been. They don’t really grasp at that age that some people might be genuinely upset by it. They’re normal kids.

It’s not, in my opinion, normal or harmless to discipline a 7-year-old by shouting “you little shit” at them, though.

Meh just a bit of theatre and drama. You’re massively overeating. They were probably bored and she got a bit creative.

I was thinking that i could see the kid going far in such a career! 🤣

It was just a bit of harmless fun, the smell usually gives ketchup away! It's a bit like the rabbit in the play at the start of zootropolis.

Ah come on now. Ketchup doesn’t look anything like blood. That’s the kind of things little kids think but it’s not true in real life.

Also, four kids splattered in ketchup. The first thing you’re going to notice is the smell.

Next thing you’re going to say is that they found your lipstick and covered themselves in red spots and you thought they had measles 😂😂😂

Completely normal. Extremely over the top to say unhinged. Worked with children for years, some of the things they’ve tried to prank me with 😂

Kids this age love gore and pretending to be hurt or dead.

In the 1970s there were a lot of films on TV set in WWII. So the local kids would play being killed by machine guns, or gas or whatever else we could imagin.

It was a prank, nothing more. They're kids.

Given the mother's reaction they won't be doing it again but it will go down in history.

No, the child is not a psychopsth.

Your friend is being daft and so are you.

Ha ha ha 🤣

I’m sure your precious angels will survive.