The entire balance of a family can shift quickly when emotions go unchecked.

When his wife lost her temper with trying to discipline his kids, it was clear she was struggling with something.

But instead of being an attentive husband, he treated her like a problem to silence — and his dismissiveness only drove a bigger wedge between them.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for siding with my daughter during an argument.

Her mother and stepfather recently moved out of the country for business, and she chose to stay with me. Before that, we did 50/50.

I met my wife a few years ago, and she’s been a great stepmother. She and my daughter get along well. My wife and I have a son, 6 months old. He adores his older sister, and she adores him.

But lately, things have been tense.

I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with my wife, but recently she’s been acting strangely around my daughter.

The main issue started last night. My daughter was playing with my son. It was rough, but my son likes that. Anyway, they were playing in the living room while I was washing dishes.

Then I hear my wife arguing quite loudly, so I stop to check.

He goes to see what happened.

I stepped between them and asked what happened, and my daughter said she and my son were playing until my wife came into the room and started yelling at her for being rough with him.

My daughter said she apologized and said she’d be more gentle, but then my son said no, and my daughter told him, “Sorry, but your mommy said no.”

Then he feels like his wife lost her temper, so he calls her out.

Then my wife started yelling at her about how she’s being disrespectful, etc.

I asked my wife if this was true, and she got defensive.

She yelled about how I’m making her look like a lunatic and showing my daughter it’s okay to treat her anyhow.

I was kind of fed up and told her to go calm down and talk to me when she wants to act like an adult, and now she hasn’t spoken to me all day.

AITA?

Surely there’s a better way he could have approached his wife about this.

What did Reddit think?

Perhaps he could have approached this whole thing differently with his wife.

His choice of words here really didn’t make things any better for anyone.

He owes his wife a little more compassion here.

This commenter agrees that a united front is the best approach.

He thought he was keeping the peace, but instead, he made her feel unheard in her own home.

This couple has a lot of work to do when it comes to their communication.

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.