Mom Helped Her Frustrated Five Year Old Get Past A Tricky Level On His Tablet Game, So Her Husband Accused Her Of Overstepping
Pexels/Reddit
Parents rarely agree on exactly how much help is too much, and the argument usually starts over something small.
A mom let her young son play on her tablet, and when he got stuck on a tricky level, she told him she’d help once she finished eating.
Her husband overheard the frustration and stepped in first, telling the boy to figure it out himself or put the game away.
When she went over and pressed one button to get her son past the obstacle, her husband accused her of overstepping and excessive handholding.
She insists this was a rare occasion and that her son is only five. Now she’s wondering whether getting upset made her the AH.
Keep reading for the full story.
AITA for helping my 5 year old with a game on his tablet?
I’m a 28-year-old female married to my husband, 30-year-old male. We’ve been married for 5 years and together for 7. We share 3 kids.
Our relationship has its issues like most do, but what happened today is really confusing me.
The source of the conflict was one of their children.
Our 5-year-old asked to play on my tablet, and I let him.
One of the games he plays, he has trouble with sometimes, so I help him out by getting past whatever he’s stuck on. I don’t do this all the time, only when he’s asking me to help.
So as her child continued to complain, her husband had a very different idea about how to handle it.
Today, my husband was home and heard him getting frustrated with his game and asking for help. I told him that as soon as I’m done eating, I can.
My husband told him, “You figure it out yourself, and if you can’t and you’re gonna get mad at the game (which, mind you, my husband is a gamer and often gets mad when he’s playing), then you can put it away.”
To her, it really isn’t that big of a deal, but to her husband, it is.
I was confused because, first of all, I already said I’d help him. And second, it’s just a game on a tablet?
Now my husband is upset at me because I went over there to help my son by pressing 1 BUTTON to get him on the platform in his game. My husband thinks I’m overstepping and that I can’t “hold his hand” all the time.
I do understand that, but I can promise you, that’s not the case here. He’s 5 years old!
AITA because I got upset with my husband for being mad at me for what I feel like is normal?
Parenting disagreements are bound to happen, especially when your kids are small.
What did Reddit have to say?
This user sees the positive aspects to this situation that the husband clearly can’t.
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
This user senses a troubling pattern.
Is any 5 year old really truly independent?
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who has to explain to her kids why they can’t keep the baby snake they found as a pet.
Excessive bickering can start to impact the child witnessing it.
This mom made a promise to her son and kept it, and somehow that became the number one parenting offense.
She said she’d help once she finished eating, and a husband who interrupts that plan to lecture a small child about frustration hasn’t taught resilience, he’s just bulldozing the conversation, which sounds fairly common in this household.
Pressing one button on a tablet game is about the lowest-stakes parenting move that exists.
Enjoyed this story?
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
