She Told Her Nonverbal Sister Not to Press the ‘Call 911’ Button on Her Communication App Unless It Was a Real Emergency. Their Mom Said She Was Discouraging Her Sister’s Voice
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Parenting is a tough job, especially when it’s not even your kid and the role was forced on you.
A big sister had a nonverbal younger sibling who communicates through an AAC app on her tablet.
Lately though, whenever things didn’t go her way, the younger sister pressed “Disaster” and followed it with “Call 911.”
So when she did it in a grocery store over a minor inconvenience, it caused a big, uncomfortable scene.
That’s when the big sister stepped in and told her to save that button for real emergencies. She worried her sister would become the girl who cried wolf, and that people might not take her seriously when it counted.
Their mom disagreed, saying her youngest has every right to use her buttons however she likes and shouldn’t be discouraged.
Now the big sister is wondering whether she was simply being protective or overstepping.
Keep reading for the full story.
AITA for telling my sister not to press the button in public unless it’s a real emergency?
I (20s, F) have a younger sister, “Ellie” (11F). Ellie is nonverbal and communicates entirely through Proloquo (an AAC app) on her tablet.
Lately, Ellie has been acting out.
Lately, when she’s slightly inconvenienced, we’re fighting, or something just isn’t going her way, she presses a button that says “Disaster” and follows it up with “Call 911.”
She’s kind of a drama queen.
Ellie soon managed to make quite a spectacle.
Yesterday, she pressed the “Call 911” button in the grocery store while she was inconvenienced. A few people asked if she was alright.
Afterwards, I told Ellie that she should stay away from the “Call 911” button in public unless it’s an actual emergency.
But her mother doesn’t agree with how she handled it.
My mom is mad at me for telling her that. She says that Ellie has the right to use her buttons however she feels, and that I shouldn’t be discouraging any use.
AITA for telling my sister not to press the button in public unless it’s a real emergency? I don’t want her to be “the girl who cried wolf,” AAC edition.
Why isn’t the mother doing the parenting here?
Redditors had some strong opinions on this one.
Emergencies need to mean something.
Continuing to misuse these signals could have serious consequences.
Some of those consequences could be quite costly.
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If her mother won’t respond to logic, perhaps an ultimatum would be more effective.
This big sister is doing a job her mom should have been doing all along, and she’s getting scolded for doing it.
Teaching a child when a word like “911” carries real weight is basic parenting, and it has nothing to do with silencing her voice.
Strangers stopped to help because they took the button seriously, which is exactly why it matters that it still works when a real emergency comes.
Ultimately, she stepped in because someone had to.
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