In a viral post shared in the Am I The A**hole group on Reddit, which can be seen here, user Vivid-Forever5903 explained they had observed their wife acting cruelly towards her daughters, aged 11 and 13.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1 in 7 children in the U.S. have experienced abuse or neglect this year.

It added: “This is likely an underestimate because many cases are unreported. In 2020, 1,750 children died of abuse and neglect in the United States.”

The commenter offered an example of when she brushes her children’s “afro hair” and insists on brushing out the knots before they have a shower.

They explained: “They sit silently but they have pain across their faces as she tugs at their knots. I mentioned this at work to one of my colleagues, [she] said her daughters should brush their hair when it’s wet with conditioner on as the knots will slide out.

“I noticed that my wife does this to her hair, but still insists her daughters sit and get their hair brushed out.”

The Reddit user continued: “One of her daughters wanted to bake a cake and my wife laughed to me afterward as she said she missed out a crucial step in the recipe and her daughter was upset when she failed - it really bothered me as it to give my wife a sense of satisfaction to leave her daughter to struggle and watch her fail.

“One of her daughters didn’t like one of my wife’s that she had cooked (she’s insisted the whole family follow her strict diet), and my wife then ‘punished’ her silently by ordering her many ready meals and putting her on a ready meal diet for the next month, without any explanation.”

The Reddit user said they “gently approached” their wife and that she had started to give them the silent treatment.

Since being shared Saturday, the post has attracted 12,100 upvotes and more than 1,500 comments.

Many of those who commented were horrified by what they read and blasted the mother for being cruel to her children.

One Reddit user, whose comment was upvoted more than 26,700 times, said: “This isn’t sabotage, this is abuse.”

Another said: “I think saying it’s petty meanness actually undersells what is happening here. Setting up situations to destroy your children’s confidence is beyond f**ked up.”

While a third said: “This is how sneaky abusive people hide their abuse and it is worse than the abuse that takes place out in the open and can not be denied because this f**ks so deeply with the victim’s head.

“They’re left absolutely powerless because there is always that deniability and the abuser is so sneaky they will never admit to what they’re doing.”

Newsweek has contacted Vivid-Forever5903 for comment.

Anyone seeking help should call The National Domestic Violence Hotline, a free and confidential hotline available 24/7 that can be reached on 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224. The Hotline also provides information on local resources. For more information, visit https://www.thehotline.org/.