14-year-old puts fake spider in his shared bathroom to scare his 17-year-old sister who spends hours getting ready and taking selfies before school, making him late: 'My parents are saying I traumatized her'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
May 13, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Most pranks do not teach people life lessons. Maybe Punk'd taught a few celebrities to be a little less trusting of absurd situations, but that's not really a life lesson. There is only one prank show that taught people to be virtuous, and that is What Would You Do? What Would You Do is a very strange viewing experience. A small group of actors plays out scenes in public places like restaurants and supermarkets. These scenes usually involve one of the characters discriminating against the other, or just doing something generally morally dubious. The premise relies on the real people who are actually shopping or eating intervening in this situation, and usually, the scenario is absurd enough that people will do it. While I'm all for intervening and doing pranks for a good cause, I'm unsure if What Would You Do teaches anyone life lessons more complex than, "Big Brother is always watching."

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  • 01

    AITA for putting a fake spider in the bathroom after my sister kept using it to take 40-minute selfies?

    Okay, so I (14M) share a bathroom with my older sister (17F), and for the past few months, she's been basically turning it into her personal photo studio. She'll go in there in the morning, do her makeup, and
    via u/DisastrousProblem573

  • The brother in this story did what ABC's John Quiñones couldn't: he pulled a prank that taught a life lesson that will never be forgotten. After his older sister misused her bathroom time, he frightened her so badly that she ran out of the bathroom.

  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10505341696
    via Karolina Grabowska (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    then spend 30 to 45 minutes taking selfies in the mirror with like six different outfits. Sometimes she even brings a ring light. A ring light. Into the bathroom.
    via u/DisastrousProblem573
  • 04
    Cheezburger Image 10505341952
    via Apostolos Vamvouras

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 05
    The problem is, when she does this, no one else can use the bathroom. I've been late to school because I had to wait just to brush my teeth. My younger brother (9M) has literally had to pee in the backyard once. I told her she needs to stop hogging it, but she just says "Get up earlier" or "You're being dramatic."
    via u/DisastrousProblem573
  • 06
    So I decided to get petty. I bought a realistic-looking fake spider off Amazon (like $4), and stuck it behind the trash can in the corner where she sets up her tripod. It didn't do anything for a few days, but this morning I heard her scream and then she ran out of the bathroom crying. She thought it was real. I told her it was fake and she called me a psycho.
    via u/DisastrousProblem573
  • 07
    Now my parents are mad at me, saying I "traumatized her" and that I "need to be more respectful of her space," but it's literally our bathroom. I didn't hurt her. I just wanted to get my sink back. AITA?
    via u/DisastrousProblem573
  • 08
    J.M. GENERALS
    via Clay Banks

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 09
    RadioNo2413 NTA. Your sister is in the wrong but I also think the parents enabled that behaviour of hers. If you got late to school and your brother literally has to use the backyard, then your parents (shockingly) aren't taking the issue seriously.
    via u/RadioNo2413
  • 10
    Sit with your parents, apologise but do tell them that you did what you did what you did because they aren't addressing a genuine issue that is affecting your school and other schedule. Maybe meet halfway with them and your sister and set a time when she can use the bathroom to do her stuff.
    via u/RadioNo2413
  • 11
    MonstreDelicat Exactly. I kept thinking where are the parents as I read this post. Nuts how some people just don't parent their kids. If my teenage daughter was making everybody suffer for selfies, she'd lost her phone for a while.
    via u/MonstreDelicat
  • 12
    foundinwonderland She made him late for school! My mom would have dragged me out of that bathroom kicking and screaming if she had to to get me and my brother to school on time.
    via u/foundinwonderland
  • 13
    harrellj that I "need to be more respectful of her space," That tells me a whole lot about the parents that they think the communal bathroom is hers.
    via u/harrellj
  • 14
    bb250517 He has no reason to apologise though, there is nothing wrong with doing something completely harmless(basically a prank), in retaliation to something that actually hurts OP, in a way that he has been late to school because of it. Meeting halfway is also just enabling her behaviour. She is in the wrong, he is in the right. What he wants is basic acces to the bathroom, what many, almost all people consider the normal. What she wants denies this basic acces. He shouldn't need to give up an
    via u/bb250517
  • 15
    Savingdollars Next change the light bulbs to yellow hues
    via u/Savingdollars
  • 16
    dustnerdingout Pop some smart bulbs and slowly change hues over time from cool to warm just to mess with her
    via u/dustnerdingout
  • 17
    Meghanshadow INFO Why on earth aren't your parents annoyed at not being able to pee/shower in the morning themselves? Do they have a en-suite bathroom? Use it.
    via u/Meghanshadow
  • 18
    And yeah, nobody gets to hog a shared bathroom for an hour in the mornings when people are getting ready for work/school. Personally - have you thought of getting up earlier and developing a long bubble bath habit?
    via u/Meghanshadow
  • 19
    MamaFrijoles develop a long bubble bath habit in the parents bathroom. if they complain, say they need to be more respectful of your space. when they inevitably say that their bathroom is their space, say "so this bathroom is your space, and the other bathroom is sisters space, so where is my space?"
    via u/MamaFrijoles
  • 20
    AteStringCheeseShred NTA. If seeing a spider is enough to "traumatize" your sister, she definitely needs to spend less time on her phone and more time outside. She's also nearly an adult and clearly has trouble grasping the concept that the world does not revolve around her, and acting like a spoiled little sh hogging shared resources like that for the sake of her own immature vanity is going to have consequences.
    via u/AteStringCheeseShred
  • 21
    Stonedagemj NTA. Ask your parents if they'll enforce a timer in the bathroom for up to 20 min, just in the mornings, or a schedule that rotates. That's a reasonable amount of time for hair and makeup (and even a couple selfies) if you guys have your own rooms to change in. An hour is too long in the morning with 3 people sharing a bathroom.
    via u/Stonedagemj
  • 22
    indigo263 I'm petty enough that at that age I'd be tempted to take her up on the suggestion of getting up earlier, more just so you can give her a taste of her own medicine. Spend the same amount of time in there as she does - play games on your phone or whatever to wile away the time - and when she gets there needing in to get ready (or take photos) then tough luck, she should've gotten up earlier!
    via u/indigo263
  • 23
    What you did was a harmless prank, and the fact your parents are still siding with her when it literally made you late for school is alarming. If your parents have their own bathroom that you could use I guess there's always that option (and see how they like the inconvenience of not being able to use it when they need to), but as far as the fake spider goes you're NTA.
    via u/indigo263
  • 24
    panic_bread NTA. Why are your parents allowing her to do this? They should take her phone away.
    via u/panic_bread
  • 25
    BethanyCullen YWNBTA. You are, however, evil, and I respect you.
    via u/BethanyCullen

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teens family drama brother teenagers bad parenting bad parents bathroom raising teens entitled family sister Parenting Fail parents entitled people Parenting FAILS
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