Co-parenting is hard enough without having to worry if your child is safe in the other parent’s home.

What would you do if your child were living in unsanitary, dangerous conditions, but every time you raised a concern, you were met with hostility and blame? Would you back off and avoid the drama? Or would you give your ex an ultimatum?

In the following story, one father is dealing with this exact situation and reaches his breaking point. Here’s what happened.

AITA for calling a welfare check on my exes home for my son?

My ex and I lived together for 4 years and had a baby 1 year into it. We’re in our early twenties and have known each other since middle school.

In September of 2024, we split due to our constant arguing. I genuinely love this woman, but I just can’t get over the blatant disrespect she shows me constantly.

We moved out of our apartment in April as neither of us could really afford living alone. She ended up moving with her mother a few states away, and not wanting to lose my son, I followed.

The mother’s house is horrid.

I got a job and housing just an hour away, and so far have been able to see him tons. However, given the situation of my ex’s mother’s house, I was letting them both stay a few days a week at my place.

Her mother is one of the worst hoarders I’ve seen. I’m talking food that expired in the 90s, buried on the kitchen counter. A carpet that needs to be burned because that thing has been deep cleaned over 35 times, and the water only looks worse and worse.

There’s also a basement full of chicken poop, and not to mention the mold on the walls and ceiling from no ventilation in the bathroom.

Knowing the house was disgusting, he tried to help them out.

To make matters worse, the mice are making new holes in the walls daily, the roaches crawl in broad daylight, and you can barely walk through the house. There’s a small path.

Plus, moldy dishes are flooding the sink, and to top all this off, he’s sharing a twin-sized couch bed with his mom and grandma in the living room. The poor guy looks exhausted coming here.

Knowing the house was like this, I wanted to help them out as much as I could.

After so much yelling and disrespect, he couldn’t do it any longer.

That’s the reason I let them stay here, but being yelled at and disrespected for asking why my son was crying in the night while she’s staying in MY place is where I finally draw the line and begin to have some self respect.

So, now I just want to make sure he’ll be okay. I told her she’s got a week to get the house in order because I’m calling a welfare check. My son deserves a clean and safe place to sleep, and our relationship has nothing to do with that.

AITA?

Yikes! That poor child. It doesn’t sound like any human should be living in that house.

Let’s see what the people over at Reddit have to say about it.

According to this person, he’s wrong for a different reason.

This person thinks he messed up by telling her.

Great suggestion.

For this person, he needs to call now.

He needs to act now. His son deserves to live in a home that’s clean and safe for him, not this disaster of a place.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.