Mom Comes Up With A Brilliant Way To Teach Her Ungrateful Daughter A Tough Love Lesson About Gratitude

It's easy to take for granted the little things in life, like a cozy bed and a steaming hot shower. As a result, our minds often focus on what we lack—and this can be a source of great distress for us.

We must combat this feeling of discontentment that plagues many of us. One way to do so is to remind ourselves to appreciate the small things in our lives—much like a pencil box.

One mother from Cantonment, Florida, Haley Hassell, purchased an L.O.L. Surprise Pencil Box for her daughter, Presleigh. To Haley's dismay, her little daughter didn't even bother to express gratitude, instead declaring that the gift was stupid because many of her peers already had it.

Despite her anger and disappointment, Haley devised an ingenious plan to serve as a wake-up call for Presleigh. As a replacement, she was given a Ziploc bag, which infuriated her to the point of tears.

In Haley's words:

Suddenly, the L.O.L. box she just thrashed was good enough, and the Ziploc bag was horrible.

Later on, she posted the rationale behind her actions on Facebook, garnering praise from thousands of parents online.

With over 134k likes and 60k shares, we can only hope that Presleigh will take the lesson to heart.

Haley and her lovely daughter, Presleigh

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Haley took to Facebook to share the incident with her daughter

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The L.O.L. pencil box sitting in the trash can

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Presleigh's ungratefulness upset her mom significantly

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"Sis needed a small wake-up call"

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Haley decided to replace the L.O.L. pencil box with a Ziploc bag as a way to teach Presleigh a lesson

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"Suddenly, the L.O.L. box she just thrashed was good enough, and the Ziploc bag was horrible"

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Presleigh couldn't believe how she went from an L.O.L. pencil box to a Ziploc bag in just a few minutes

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Haley explained to her daughter the importance of being grateful for what she has

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Mother and daughter in one beautiful shot

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In an interview with Haley, she revealed a little bit about her daughter:

Her teachers and grandparents would say she’s a perfect angel, but everyone who gets to know her knows she can be a little firecracker who loves to dance, sing, and ride horses. She wants to be a YouTube star. She made a channel when she was 4, but we haven’t really made videos since posting the original two years ago.She’s also very resilient and understanding. It has been just me and her since she was a baby. As a single mom working full-time and in nursing school until graduating last year, I couldn’t be with her as much as I wanted sometimes, but she has always understood and told me how much she loves me.

A family in Arkansas was fortunate to receive the L.O.L. pencil box along with other school supplies.

A mom wrote to me that she saw the article, saying she agreed with me because she couldn’t afford any supplies for her kids to start school with. So I instantly decided that if she wanted the pencil box for her daughter, then it was hers—and she did.So we mailed the box and all the school supplies from the list I found online for the school district the family lived in to her.

Haley believes that her act of kindness toward families who can't afford what Presleigh has has put things into perspective for the little girl.

The final outcome appears to have been favorable for all parties involved.

Here's how people reacted to Haley's reasoning:

Attitude problem solved

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Good job by a good mom

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"She will thank you later in life"

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More parents need to adopt this strategy

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Sometimes you have to teach your kids a tough love lesson

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Presleigh might need to earn her next pencil box

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Good parenting

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As parents, one of the most important things we should try to instill in our children is gratitude. It is imperative for us to teach them from a young age to be thankful for what they have, no matter how little.

Kids need to understand never to take the sacrifices of their parents for granted, as many other kids aren't fortunate enough to enjoy what they have. Regardless of Presleigh's bad behavior, she's still a little angel who will learn from her mistakes and grow.

What do you think about Haley's method of punishing her daughter? Share your thoughts in the comments.