One husband has shared his thoughts on getting a divorce after his wife hurled a one-word insult at their daughter during an argument.
Writing in the 'Am I Overreacting' thread on Reddit, the man began the query explaining that he and his wife have been married for 13 years and share a 17-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son together.
"Please keep in mind that my wife’s mother is currently in the hospital with heart issues and may or may not have much longer to live. We don’t know yet," he continued, adding: "With my wife dealing with possibly losing her mother, I had no problem cooking dinner when I came home after a 12 hour work shift. I even did laundry and dishes."
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The father-of-two then explained that he 'yelled' at his son after finding his 'dirty dishes laying around' and 'cups of spoiled milk in his room'.
He then decided to take away the pre-teen's iPad 'until he can keep his room clean', outlining: "I have always been the ONLY one to punish him when he behaves badly."
His wife apparently 'did not like that one bit'.
"She got an attitude and just started throwing insults at me. Fine. No big deal. I can take some jabs," the Redditor went on. "But then she started attacking my daughter."
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She then, according to the husband, starting calling their teen daughter 'trash multiple times for no reason whatsoever'.
"Btw my 17-year-old is awesome. She had two jobs over the summer at the library and an over cream shop. She has been accepted into Penn State and never bad mouths anyone," he pointed out, before posing a question for fellow social media users on the platform.
"Should I give the wife a pass because she may be acting out from losing her mother or should I put my foot down and refuse to be with someone so verbally abusive toward my daughter? What do I do?" he pleaded.
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The post in question was titled: "Considering divorcing my wife after she called my daughter trash."
Some people fumed alongside the husband, telling him to bite the bullet and call it quits with his wife of 13 years.
"Yeah… put your foot down. Grieving or not, you don’t attack a child and call them trash," hit out one person.
A second declared: "100%. There’s no justifying that kind of talk, especially toward a kid who’s clearly doing her best. Grief sucks but it doesn’t give anyone a free pass to be cruel."
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And a third echoed: "No real f*cking adult should get a 2nd chance for lashing out at a child. That is one strike and you're out.
"I'm 100% on going straight to divorce."
Others, however, weren't so sure with one user writing: "Grown up relationships don't work like that 'she did one really bad thing while in a deep state of worry, so yep divorce time', Considering your age and how old your kids are I think you know it doesn't work like that."
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"I think it’s fair to put the foot down but also address that she may be acting out because of this," offered another. "It’s important to call people on their sh*t so they recognise it and learn for the future in my opinion.
"She might not realise what she is doing. Granted it’s no excuse but someone being in it to her attention might humble her a little. Regardless she should not be talking about a child in such a way. She’s resenting something there she never dealt with from my personal experience."
And a final Reddit user agreed: "Absolutely. Calling it out helps hold her accountable, and understanding her pain doesn’t mean accepting the behavior. Boundaries are key."
Where do you stand on the matter?
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Real Life, True Life, Life, Parenting, Social Media, Reddit
Rhiannon Ingle