Even the simplest family routines can stir up surprising tension.

When their daughter sped ahead on her balance bike, the wife hustled to keep up while the husband preferred to take a more relaxed pace. The ensuing argument shut down the entire walk earlier than expected.

Read on for the full story!

AITA for not slowing down my walking pace

After dinner, my husband suggested that he, I, and our 4yo daughter go for a walk around the block.

Our daughter wanted to ride on her balance bike instead of walk.

Supervising their daughter’s safety added an extra level of complexity to the walk.

Since our kiddo was on wheels, we frequently used the cue “Red light!” to have her stop and wait for us to catch up.

Even though she’d stop pretty reliably, I was still walking quickly to catch up to her, while my husband was wanting to stroll and walk leisurely.

This soon started to create tension between the couple.

About 1/3 of the way around, he asked why I was walking so fast, and I said, “Because she’s going fast and I don’t want her to get too far ahead.” According to my watch, we averaged a 58-minute mile around the block. (36 minutes to go 0.6 mi)

He got irritated and turned back while our daughter and I went around the rest of the block.

AITA for not slowing both myself and our daughter (on a bike) for a spontaneous after-dinner walk?

She wasn’t trying to rush the moment — she was simply trying to keep up with her daughter.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s entirely possible the husband was the one who needed to speed up.

This commenter is pretty sure their daughter’s safety should be the most important consideration here.

But maybe her husband has a point and she’s making too many excuses for herself.

Maybe this couple just wasn’t aligned on their expectations for the walk.

The walk was meant to bring them together, but it only ended up highlighting the distance between their expectations.

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