Oklahoma mom kicks out her ‘mentally ill’ kid — and many parents understand her plight
She made a gut-wrenching decision, and the internet isn’t judging her for it. Megan Morris (meggles2446), a mom from Oklahoma, went viral after posting a TikTok where she openly shared that she had to remove her mentally ill 9-year-old daughter from their home for the safety of her family. Her honesty struck a chord, drawing over 24.6 million views and a wave of support from people who understood just how serious and dangerous the situation had become.
Far from shaming her, viewers rallied behind the mom, many saying that when faced with such intense and unpredictable behavior, there are no easy choices, only the ones that keep everyone safe. Her daughter, she says, displayed violent, unpredictable behavior that escalated to serious safety concerns for her and her other children. She recalls terrifying incidents, the child attempting to cover her eyes while she was driving, throwing a baby brother out of a swing, smashing a candle into another child’s head, and hitting a sibling in the eye with a baseball bat.
“She would attack her siblings unprovoked,” she says. “One time, she flipped her 3-month-old brother out of his swing. Another time, she walked past her sleeping cousin and smacked her in the face with a shoe. And no amount of discipline helped. It only made things worse.” After trying to manage the behavior for years, she says she made the painful choice to remove her daughter from their household, not to give up on her, but to protect everyone else, including the child herself.
Mental health issues among children in the U.S. are more common than many realize. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, about 15% of kids aged 5 to 17 received specialized mental health care in 2021. That includes therapy, counseling, or medication. Among younger kids under 11, the number was 11.3%. For teens aged 12 to 17, it was nearly 19%. Megan Morris’ daughter is part of that growing statistic. Now 12, the child has been in and out of therapy for most of her life. In a GoFundMe appeal, Morris shared that her daughter has been diagnosed with several conditions, including Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and ADHD.
Despite trying over 100 different medications and years of therapy, her symptoms have remained severe and difficult to manage. Morris is now hoping to raise $6,000 for specialized brain scans to better understand what her daughter is going through. The video quickly became a flashpoint for debate, but many commenters understood the gravity of the situation.@Luffy$b1gg3stgl@zer wrote bluntly, “‘She’s a kid’ — She almost murdered her family.” @CourtCourt added, “Every true crime documentary starts with family members ignoring the clear signs when they were children and then ending up on said documentary. You did the right thing.”
Others reminded people that children like this don’t just grow out of it without support. @NieshaEscobar said, “Y’all gotta remember as well that these children turn into adults.” @Roxanne_alize made a bold point: “If every mom did this, there would be no serial killers. Kids need help from a young age.”Some, like @dogluver99, simply thanked her, “Thank you for not ignoring these things and protecting everyone.” And @Summer, who worked in treatment centers, reassured her: “You did the right thing, mama.”
To follow her journey, you can find her on TikTok as @meggles2446!