Parents often face difficult decisions about when to step in and when to let things slide.

One father made a split-second choice to protect his toddler from a pushy child, but the reaction from the other child’s mother left him second-guessing himself.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for making a child cry by defending my baby against his aggression?

I (39M) was with my wife and children at an aquarium about 6 months ago.

I was with two of my children, sitting for a presentation — in particular, my daughter (1F).

She was just getting used to standing and walking, not particularly paying any attention to the presentation, but not doing anything of interest either.

But then came some trouble.

Nearby, a little boy, I figure 4 or 5 years old, pushed her down the instant she looked in his direction.

She didn’t mind, so I let it go.

She got up, looked in his direction again — and again, he pushed her down.

She whimpered about it but got over it.

When it continued, the father decided he needed to step in.

Finally, the third or fourth time (I cannot recall), I actually saw it coming and was in range to intercept.

I simply put my arm in the way so that the boy ended up pushing my arm instead of the baby, and then stated sternly to him: “Do not push the baby.”

Other than the push on my arm and that statement, I did nothing more.

Inevitably, the boy went screaming to his mother.

There was a very long hiatus, perhaps 10–15 seconds, where the boy stood still and silent, as if he was completely stunned.

Finally, he went to his mother, wailing desperately.

Unbelievably, he was somehow to blame for her child misbehaving.

She came to me and asked what had happened.

I told her what happened and what I did and said, to which she responded, “Well, he’s only four/five, he’s little. I hope you feel good about yourself.”

Her words didn’t make me feel good, but I don’t think I did anything wrong.

AITA?

It took some nerve for this lady to say anything about anyone else’s parenting.

What did Reddit have to say?

Some people’s parenting tactics are just non-existent.

The father did nothing wrong according to this commenter.

Maybe the other parent could learn a lesson in not being so self-absorbed.

This user would have had a few choice words for this mother.

The true clash here was between parenting styles.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.