Dad sparks debate after admitting cruel cake prank on daughter’s 18th birthday

A dad has provoked a huge reaction on social media after sharing the story of how he left his daughter "dumbfounded" by pranking her on her birthday.

The father posted on Reddit’s popular Am I the A**hole? thread and asked users whether he was out of line for his actions which left his 18-year-old daughter "dumbfounded".

As he explained, his 16-year-old son helped him devise a plan to "smash cake" into the girl’s face when she woke up on her special day.

The son thought it would "make her laugh" – however, he explained that it actually left her “upset”.

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He wrote: "My daughter’s 18th birthday was yesterday. On the eve of her birthday, my son told me about his idea to smash cake and whipped cream on his big sister’s face when she woke up. I thought this would be funny and make my daughter laugh first thing on her birthday, so I agreed to do it with my son.

"I would say my biggest regret here is not telling my wife I knew about the plan.”

The cake prank has provoked a strong reactiongratuit/Creative Commons

The man went on to say: "My daughter woke up at 8 yesterday and when she first came to the breakfast table, my son and I were waiting. We pounced and we each grabbed a slice of chocolate cake and smeared it onto her face and I yelled happy birthday.

"My wife came to our daughter’s rescue and started yelling at me all the while my daughter was just dumbfounded and shocked. My son and I realised we made a mistake and we apologised, and my daughter went to take a shower.”

He added: "The rest of the day was smooth sailing and my daughter had a fun birthday besides the morning incident but she was clearly upset at her brother and me."

Inevitably, the post provoked a big reaction – with most firmly of the belief that the man was completely in the wrong.

“How is this funny?” one wrote, seeming to sum up the majority of reactions.

Another said: “It was only funny to dad and brother. I think it was incredibly rude. It might be memorable, but not for the right reasons.”

One person also said: "You started your daughter's birthday off with a deeply unpleasant experience and then laughed at her distress. If your biggest regret is that you didn't tell your wife beforehand, you're even more wrong.”

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