Mom Faces the Wrath of the Internet After Refusing to Let Her Son Go to the Homecoming Dance

The easiest way to make co-parents happy is by trading weekends — but are we sure the kids are thrilled about the lack of downtime? As they get older, they start prioritizing their friends on the weekend, like this teenage boy in the wildly popular "Am I the A------" (AITA) subreddit. Unfortunately, his mom won't let him go out and have fun.

The original poster, who goes by the handle u/Dapper-Yellow8180, said she won't let her son, who's a football player, go to his school's homecoming dance because she barely sees him anymore. OK, seriously?!

Read on for the whole story. Plus, stick around to hear what the internet has to say.

The OP immediately dove into the story, revealing that her ex told her their high school freshman-aged son wants to go to homecoming. The dance falls on the weekend she has him, so she won't let him go.

"I only see him four days a month right now," the OP said, "and he only sees his brother on the weekends because my ex took my older son away from me to go live with him when he wasn't doing good in school with me."

So, the OP told her ex she won't let their son go, noting that it isn't fair to her or their eldest son to let their football-playing son go to homecoming. Plus, the OP "can't drive him there because it's an hour each way."

The OP's ex offered her to keep the boy until Monday, but she declined the reasonable proposal because she'd "only get him from Sunday morning to Monday evening, which is less than my usual time."

As expected, the OP's son is outraged. To make matters worse, the OP's ex told her that she doesn't put their kids first. She continued, "I barely see my son, and I already [give] up a lot of time for his football practice."

So, what's the verdict? Is the OP the AH? Keep scrolling to hear what fellow Redditors have to say!

The now-viral post received over 9,000 comments from Redditors who agreed the OP is the AH.

"YTA. It's a school dance. He needs to be social," one person said in the comment section. "He needs to participate in things with people his own age. He needs to do things he wants to do."

A second user agreed, writing, "Not to mention, he's a FOOTBALL player and it's HOMECOMING. Also, as a freshman, it's probably the only school dance he will be able to go to that year. The OP would be very selfish to rob him of that experience."

"Homecoming is not 'literally just a dance' to a high schooler, especially a football player," another person added. "You need to put your son before what's convenient for you."

A fourth user pointed out, "Your son's father is correct — you don't put your kids first. He's a teenager and the dance is important to him. ... It isn't about what you want — it's about being loving & supportive to your children."

"YTA, all OP's comments are like 'I don't get enough time' with a strong emphasis on 'I,'" a Redditor noted. "The son's time is his time, and he gets to spend it the way he wants for important events of his life, irrespective of whether OP gets enough time with him or not."

Someone else penned, "It may seem like 'just a dance,' but a lot can happen in one night. Kids make some of the best memories at school functions. If you don't let him go, he's gonna resent you for it, and it's only gonna make him not wanna spend any time with you. He's ... going [to go] out of his way to make sure you know he's not happy."

What do you think? Should the OP let her son go to homecoming? Let us know!