Parenting doesn’t come with a guide book, especially after taking in your nephew after a family tragedy.

One blended household grew even more tense after a teen’s suspension from school led to an intense argument between parents that threw their entire relationship into question.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITA for fighting with my husband over how to discipline my dead sister’s son?

I (34F) have three kids with my husband (36M), but I am also raising my sister’s son (17M) after she passed six years ago.

Life hasn’t been easy for their nephew after the big transition.

My nephew is a good kid, but he has been struggling since his mom died.

Last month, he got into trouble at school and got suspended.

But these parents bitterly disagreed on how to handle this.

My husband wanted to ground him for a month, take his phone, and add in a lot more chores.

I thought this was excessive because the kid is working through his grief!

We debated a bit but ultimately settled on a two-week punishment.

This isn’t what ended up happening, though.

Yesterday, I learned that my husband went behind my back and told my nephew that the original punishment stood.

He stated that I was too soft because he is not “really our kid,” so we need to be tougher.

But when she confronted her husband about it, he said something troubling.

I confronted my husband, who said since he was the one who makes the money, he should have the final say in discipline and it would apply to chores, money access—whatever. I totally lost it.

I told him my nephew is a responsibility just like our bio kids are.

He has no right to pull the “breadwinner” card on me just because he makes more money than I do.

AITA? Should I have just let my husband take the lead?

More goes into parenting than just how much money you make.

What did redditors make of this situation?

According to this commenter, her husband has this whole thing all wrong.

Just because he earns a bigger salary doesn’t mean he should get to lord over the entire house.

To this user, whether the husband’s punishment was out of line all depends on what their nephew did to earn a suspension.

This commenter seems to think there’s more than enough blame to go around here.

True partnership requires respect and equity, and that’s something his husband needs to learn sooner than later.

Above all, money shouldn’t dictate who gets the final say in parenting decisions.

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.