Some people forget that being tired or stressed doesn’t give them permission to take it out on a child.

So, what would you do if your mom exploded in frustration while babysitting your sick son and started yelling at both of you?

Would you just let her vent and move on? Or would you step in and remind her that he’s just a kid?

In the following story, a single mom deals with this exact scenario and decides to stand up for her child.

Here’s what happened next.

AITA for reminding my mom that my son is a child?

My son was sick yesterday, and my mom offered to babysit for me since I couldn’t miss work.

For context, I(30F) am a single mom because my husband passed away in an accident last year. We had 2 kids together, ages 12 and 8, and my 8-year-old has severe ADHD and Autism.

Being a newly single mom, money has been really tight. I do get state assistance, but not a lot. My husband didn’t have life insurance, so there was no money left to us from him.

My mom and sister help me with babysitting if the kids are sick or if there is no school, because I can’t afford a sitter.

Her son really didn’t want to go to Grandma’s house.

The issue came when I told her I didn’t have food to spare right now cause I haven’t been able to go shopping yet.

I asked her to please bring her own food or be prepared to buy herself food because the food I have in the house is strictly for the kids until I can get to the store this weekend.

(We were all super sick last weekend, and I don’t live in a town with a grocery store; the closest one is a 30-minute drive.)

She said it would be easier to take my son to her house then, which I was okay with, but my 8-year-old hates going to her house.

When she comes to get him, he has a meltdown because he doesn’t want to go to her house. I ask if she can just stay, and I can find a way to get more food before the weekend.

Apparently, her mother had a lot to get off her chest.

She said no and insisted he had to come with her, which made it worse. Now, my mom has not been very patient, but she and my sister are the only sitters I have right now because they don’t charge me much—just the gas to get here.

Well, she lost it and started yelling at me and him that she didn’t have time for this, and she had plans that day, she canceled just to watch him (she didn’t mention this to me when I asked).

She also said, and I quote, “I wish we could trade lives, and I could lie around and throw tantrums all day, and you can go to work and just have everyone use you and take your money all the time. How much it must suck to be you and do whatever you want while I have to do nothing but take care of other people.”

Her mother has a temper, but she didn’t want her son to witness it.

I never borrow money from my mother but my sister and grandma live with her and they dont work so I know she is under a lot of stress and she takes it out on me a lot.

For exmaple, she’ll call me burden. Or she’ll let me know how much my tragic loss has effected her negatively. Calling me other names or yelling at me for things my sister or grandma do.

I didn’t yell or argue. I simply covered his ears, looked at her, and went, “Mom, he is 8.”

She lost it and screamed, “**** you then, miss work and lose money, I don’t care, I am leaving,” and then she left.

At this point, she’s not sure what to do.

Now she says she will not babysit for me again, so I can know true struggle, which, if she follows through, means I have to miss a bunch of work or find a sitter I can trust that won’t break my bank.

So, I am wondering if I should have cut her a break, knowing she is under so much pressure.

I understand she is frustrated and needs to get it off her chest, but I feel like a verbal punching bag, and I don’t want my kids to have to deal with that as well.

AITA?

Wow! There’s a lot to unpack in this story.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit think she should handle it.

This reader explains the difference between a tantrum and an autistic meltdown.

Here’s some good info.

According to this reader, the mother is too much.

This comment offers a solution.

She should apologize to her mother. From the sound of it, her mother was stressed and just snapped in the moment.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.