Agreeing on parenting decisions can be tough, but it’s even tougher when your partner is dismissive.

This story had me letting out a “yikes” and an “oof” every other sentence.

Let’s dive in.

My (43M) niece (14F) is being raised by my wife (40F) and I – it’s a long story, having to do with my sister getting herself pregnant from a deadbeat and proving overall unfit to be a mother. Bottom line is, I see my niece as my daughter and love her just as much as my own biological children (11M/8M).

I know my wife also loves her the same way, however I’m legally my niece’s sole legal guardian.

This talented young girl has potential!

My niece has practiced gymnastics for the past 10 years, and when she was about 7 or 8 one of the coaches at her gym took notice of her potential and suggested she could really make it as a professional athlete.

I personally believe my wife and my niece/daughter were taken by this promise of future glory.

“Can you imagine if she competes in the Olympics one day?” my wife said.

I was always VERY cautious because I do realize the shots are slim.

I also knew that could cost us a lot of money going forward, but the coach believed so much in her that they managed to cover some of the costs of her training on the gym’s dime.

Right as the father pushed away his skepticism, his fears came back to bite him.

And when I say training, I mean TRAINING – some serious hard work.

I told them I was fine with the idea as long my niece was happy doing gymnastics and it didn’t majorly impact her life.

And then, last month, she tore her ACL during practice. We do have insurance, so the medical costs were covered.

No one wants to watch a loved one in pain.

However, she’s going through a painful recovery, all the while wondering when she’ll be healthy enough to get back to the gym.

But I told my wife I don’t want her to do this anymore.

Seeing her get hurt and in pain made me realize this is a dangerous sport, and the toll it’s taking on her body is simply not worth it.

While the husband stands firm in not allowing his niece to put herself at risk again, his wife feels differently.

My wife said I couldn’t make this decision without considering what my niece wants; I said I can because I’m the adult here and she’s still a child.

So my wife said there was still the matter of her disagreeing with my view, and that we were supposed to make this parenting decisions together.

And *this* is when he put the nail in the coffin.

I then said that’s true regarding our boys, but not when it comes to my niece.

All I meant is that I’m the sole guardian in the sense of being responsible for her; what my wife got is that I was undermining her as a surrogate mother.

AITA here?

Reddit users were all in agreeance when it came to this story.

One person suggested involving the niece considering it’s a decision regarding her.

While this person suggested not only the niece joining the conversation, but a sports professional as well.

This reader was too distraught by the disrespect the writer had shown his wife to even write a suggestion.

Maybe the “yikes” and “oof” weren’t enough…

WOOF.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.