Privacy and boundaries are a healthy part of any relationship.

This dad took to Reddit to share his story.

My son Simon (16) moved out of the room he used to share with his little brother and got his own room a few months back.

Ever since, he’s been complaining about his mom barging in without knocking and interrupting his sleep and studying.

Sometimes when he’s changing…

Just as all teenagers eventually do, this boy is looking for more autonomy.

I know that she’s his mother but he says he’s got his own room and has a job and is learning to become an independent adult but doesn’t feel like his privacy is being respected even when that’s his mom.

He says he’s not a kid anymore and is entitled to at least get a knock on the door before she comes in.

Despite asking his mom directly, he could not get her to cooperate.

He was getting tired of her not listening to him. So he came to me and said…

Dad, you need to help me set some clear boundaries with mom.

So I spoke to her about her need to knock before entering Simon’s room.

The wife did not take it well when her husband shared his opinion on the matter.

She was like “what? And no, we’re family, not strangers. Do you really expect me to foolishly knock on the door 5 times a day?…that’s ridiculous!!!”

Also the…”who knocks doors in their own home?”

I told her about my family’s stance on knocking.

The wife had a visceral reaction.

She made a face then went on a rant about how my family hates each other and the way they treat each others like they were strangers is shameful.

I told her family or strangers, it’s about respecting one’s privacy.

The husband laid out his prediction for how the son would react to the consistent barging.

We had an argument about it and I told her if she wasn’t going to stop with the barging and refuse to knock on the door before entering then our son will get a lock.

She did it again at 11pm, she barged in when our son was asleep he jumped up because he got scared.

Once he told me this I told him to go ahead and get a lock and pay for it with his own money. There was literally no other way.

The mother was furious at both her husband and son.

My wife saw it and got upset.

She was raising her voice at me questioning if I really went ahead and got a lock for Simon despite her disapproval and said that I caught her off guard and it’s not okay because this teaches our children that they can ‘manipulate’ one parent into doing what they want.

I told her that A. Simon got the lock not me and B. I already warned her about the possibility of him getting a lock because he was getting tired of her boundary crossing.

So she should’ve expected this outcome.

The lock only emphasized the woman’s fears.

She mentioned the same above points in her defense and said locks means secrets and that’s not good.

My brother (who was visiting) was sitting watching while she was complaining.

She then began chewing him out when he asked her to let simon keep the lock and said it wasn’t a big deal.

Now the woman is giving everyone the silent treatment.

She stopped talking to me and Simon and will not talk to us unless we remove the lock but I’ve no intentions on doing that.

Was I at fault for my stance?

Reddit users sided with the father and son immediately.

One person called the woman unreasonable.

Another reader asked if the mom is looking for something specific and if so, why?

This person asked if she would be okay with her son barging in on her all the time.

Good luck to you, kid. Yikes!

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.