Sharing her story with Reddit’s Am I the A******? forum (AITA on 22 September), user u/Exotic-Ice-8239 explained that the 21-year-old had stolen the heirlooms—two very expensive pieces of jewelry—from her two younger sisters and traded them in for cash.

Although the poster feels she had no choice but to ask the daughter to leave, her own parents say she is being a “horrible mother,” leading her to question the decision.

Heirlooms among Americans’ most treasured possessions

A recent study by lifestyle brand Shinola found that roughly half of Americans had a family heirloom they considered a prized possession.

Surveying 2,000 people nationwide, 65 percent said family photos were their most treasured item, followed by wedding rings (56 percent), a piece of jewelry (54 percent), engagement rings (50 percent) and family heirlooms (49 percent).

When it comes to passing down items, 32 percent hoped to inherit an engagement ring, 29 percent said a piece of jewelry and 26 percent a wedding ring.

42 percent of participants had a family heirloom over 50 years old, with 77 percent believing it’s important to give gifts that can one day be passed down to future generations.

‘The final straw’

In her post, Exotic-Ice-8239 said that her daughter Lucy was living at home rent-free, along with her sisters Diane, 17, and Rosa,15.

Since finishing high school three years ago, the poster said Lucy has “gone off the rails” and started hanging out with a bad crowd.

Outside of her retail job, Lucy spends her time “smoking cigarettes and weed, partying at every opportunity [and] getting drunk everyday.” She also suspects Lucy has been “doing hard drugs” and said she is behaving disrespectfully to her mom and sisters.

The poster has tried to get her daughter into both rehab and therapy, but to no avail. However, an incident three weeks ago was “the final straw.”

“Diane and Rosa have pieces of very expensive jewellery that they inherited from their dad’s mother after she passed away last year,” she wrote. “The jewellery had been in the family for generations.

“Whilst they were at school, their pieces of jewellery went missing from their rooms.”

The poster said that the girls’ father was killed in a work accident 11 years ago. The jewelry was a gift from their paternal grandmother, who also passed away last year. The items had been in her late husband’s family for generations and were very special to her daughters.

“Diane and Rosa were incredibly upset when they noticed the jewellery was missing,” she wrote.

“I asked Lucy if she knew what happened. Lucy lied and said she didn’t know.

“I pressed the issue and pointed out that she went partying and spent loads of money, and Lucy eventually admitted that she stole the jewellery and pawned it.

“Even though it was kind of obvious that it was Lucy, I was still shocked that she would do something like that.”

After discovering the truth, the poster gave Lucy three days to move out.

“I didn’t think it was fair on Diane and Rosa to keep someone like Lucy around when she keeps causing chaos and destruction in our home,” she said. “I was also worried about Diane and Rosa being influenced by her.

“Lucy left the next day and went to go stay with my parents, who are saying I’m a horrible mother for kicking Lucy out and that I’m clearly playing favourites. AITA?”

Redditors React

Reddit users reassured the poster that she did the right thing, with the post receiving almost 6,000 upvotes and over 700 comments.

“You didn’t kick Lucy out because of anything outside of Lucy’s own control,” said pdxflwerwer.

“Let them deal with her stealing from them if they think you are such a horrible parent.”

“Is it favouritism to punish the one kid for her irresponsible actions?” asked AliquidLatine. “No, it’s justified.

“Favouritism would be letting Lucy get away with her horrible behaviour whilst her sisters are left to suffer.”

FlyoverHangover said: “Your daughter has some things to figure out. Maybe she will, maybe she won’t, but ultimately you still have two other, non-destructive children to prioritize and care for.”

Nevertheless, users urged her to file a police report against Lucy and ask officers for help getting the stolen heirlooms back.

“Local police get pawn sheets from local pawn stores and check them against stolen property reports,” wrote penquin_squeak.

“Your daughter will probably get arrested because pawn shops take the IDs of people pawning goods but you may be able to retrieve the jewelry.”

GardenDafe8519 agreed, saying: “If Lucy goes to jail maybe it will be a wake up call for her. It is called tough love and sometimes you just have to walk away and hope for the best.”

The user distrustfuldiscovery said Lucy may be be struggling with addiction and recommended seeking support.

“This is what addicts do – they steal money and valuables from their family because they need money for drugs,” they said.

“I don’t say this to scare you, OP. I say this because this is your new reality.

“Reach out to al-anon or other substance abuse support groups for family members. Figure out what steps are going to be right for you with people who know about addiction to advise you.

“Don’t listen to people who don’t understand the disease you’re all now fighting.”

Newsweek has reached out to u/Exotic-Ice-8239 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.