Woman Doesn't Continue the Punishment Her Ex-Husband Set for Their Son — Is She Wrong?

Let's face it — kids act up! Deciding what to do about your child's behavior is one of the challenges of being a parent, but it becomes even harder when you're splitting custody. Take it from these two people in the "AITA" subreddit, who can't seem to agree on whether their son should be punished or not.

The original poster, who goes by the handle u/Big_Bet_7434, revealed that her ex-husband grounded their son and expected her to continue the punishment at her house — but she didn't. With that said, who's in the wrong?

Read on for more details. Plus, stick around to hear what the internet has to say.

The OP said her ex-husband punished their son because he faked being sick on the day of his dad's wedding. When the kid came clean about it, the OP's ex grounded him for a month and told him he "would not be having any kind of fun when he missed something as important as his wedding."

On the day of exchange, the OP's ex-husband sent her an in-depth email about what their son did and asked that she continue the punishment at her house. However, after talking with their son, she refused.

The OP's son told her he was "really upset" about his dad getting married. As a result, she made him an appointment with a therapist and they had a "good talk" about everything going on in his life.

By then, the OP decided to excuse her son's punishment — and to say her ex-husband and his new wife were furious would be an understatement. They told the OP her little boy "disrespected both of them and had disrespected his new sisters by avoiding the celebration of them all becoming one family."

The OP explained that their son was struggling with all the changes, adding that she took him to therapy for that very reason. The ex-husband said their son never told him these things (he did two years ago, but the ex brushed it off and gave his son attitude for it) and demanded the OP to back him up — but again, she refused.

In the end, the OP said she wanted to help their son without punishing him. The ex-husband and his wife called the OP an a------. Ah, what a classic response!

As expected, many fellow Redditors rallied in support of the OP.

"Your house, your rules. NTA and you sound like a very considerate mom," one Reddit user wrote, adding, "Getting him an appointment with his therapist was the right thing to do!"

"It sounds like your son is having a very hard time adjusting to the marriage, and instead of trying to help him, your ex is punishing him," a second person said. "That's probably going to backfire tbh."

Another Redditor commented, "I get Dad being mad about skipping the wedding, but there's a much larger issue that he's completely ignoring, which is probably why things played out the way they did. The therapist [appointment] was the perfect response. Dad will realize ... His son's feelings are real, and this is going to be an ongoing issue."

Others suggested the OP document the situation and fight for more custody: "Start documentation. Your ex is making unreasonable demands to overrule your parenting decisions and your parenting authority," someone else shared. "His spouse is making harmful statements about your son's upbringing."

Another person agreed, stating, "The minute your state allows children to have a voice in their custody, take dad back to court with a big ole binder of the s--- he has pulled along with a therapist's note on how dad's [new relationship] has impacted that poor kid."

What do you think? Let us know!