Kids are a beautiful blessing… when they’re yours. Or even like, close to yours.

But other peoples’ kids? No thanks.

Like in this story where a friend is trying to force a couple to change their wedding plans to accommodate her child.

Should they give in or hold their ground?

Let’s read all the details.

AITAH for making my wedding child free to avoid singling out one child?

I (32F) and my fiancé (33M) decided early on that we wanted a child-free wedding.

This choice was influenced by two key experiences.

There was the matrimonial mayhem:

1. We attended a wedding where several kids were present, and it quickly became clear that their parents had little interest in managing their behavior.

The children were running around, making noise during the ceremony, and interrupting speeches.

It was chaotic, and the couple’s special moments were constantly disrupted.

And the road-trip roughness:

2. We took a group trip with a few friends, one of whom brought their young child.

While the child had some adorable moments, their presence significantly impacted the trip.

The parents often expected the rest of us to help out, and frequent tantrums were brushed off as them just being overtired.

Overall, the trip would have been far more enjoyable without the added stress.

They just decided to make it grown-ups only.

With those experiences in mind, a child-free wedding seemed like the right choice—until we got engaged.

Not long after sharing our engagement, one of our friends mentioned how much they would love for their child to be part of the ceremony.

I initially avoided the topic, planning to address it later.

When they brought it up again, I gently explained our decision.

They were clearly unhappy and have since hinted that attending without their child wouldn’t be an option—though, in reality, it is. They simply don’t want to.

It’s not you, it’s all of them.

In many ways, we feel a child-free rule is the kindest choice.

It ensures that no single child feels excluded, as the rule applies to everyone equally.

If we had made an exception for some children but not others, it could have created hurt feelings or tension.

This way, there’s no singling out—just a clear, fair boundary that makes expectations clear for all our guests.

So what do we do now?

I completely understand if our friend chooses not to come because of our decision, but I don’t think enforcing a child-free wedding makes us unreasonable.

Especially considering that our past experiences—including with their child—are what led us to this decision in the first place.

For context, the child will be a little older by the time of the wedding, but our relationship with them isn’t particularly close, and their behavior has been fairly consistent over the years.

I don’t expect that to change significantly.

Their wedding, their rules.

Let’s go to the comments on Reddit:

A lot of commenters pointed out a super important part of the story:

Like seriously, who does that?

Hire a sitter, you’ll both have way more fun.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.