Woman Told Her Friend With A Difficult 5-Year-Old She Should 'Rehome' Him — She Doesn't Get Why She's Upset
She still thinks it's not a bad idea.
Tuấn Kiệt Jr. / Pexels About 5.5 million kids in the United States, or 8.9% of them, have behavioral issues. There are many ways of dealing with misbehaved kids and depending on your parenting style, you might prefer one solution over another.
A 22-year-old woman recently turned to the AITA (Am-I-The-A—hole) subreddit to get readers’ input on how she dealt with a recent conversation she had with her 24-year-old friend.
The woman shared that the friend in question has a five-year-old son who is “difficult”. According to her, the boy “cries a lot, destroys stuff, and yells [at] her”.
She gently suggested her mom friend should seek external help.
The child’s father supports his son financially but is not in the picture on a day-to-day basis. So her friend is left to parent her child alone since she doesn’t have any family members living near her.
According to the Redditor, her friend is being “destroyed” by the child’s behavior. She claims that the mom’s appearance is suffering and that she always seems to be tired and anxious. She tells readers that the single mother has been prescribed medication to deal with her stress.
The woman went on to explain that seeing her friend so troubled is painful, since they have known each other for several years.
Recently, the two women were conversing at the 22-year-old’s home while the little boy attended daycare. His mother expressed that she was at her wits end and began to cry. She had run out of ideas on how to deal with her son.
Eager to be there for her distraught friend, the Redditor complimented her on her efforts thus far. Then she told the woman it was “time to think [about] more difficult possibilities” before suggesting that the boy stay with ‘someone else’ while his mother took care of herself.
According to the woman, her friend was taken aback by the suggestion, so she asked for clarity.
She said, “Are you saying that I should rehome my son? Like he's a f-cking dog?”
Of course, she let her know that her comments were not intended that way, but again suggested that it would be “better for everyone” if the child lived with someone who was equipped to handle him.
This set her friend off and the angry mom began to yell at her, unable to believe she would even hint at such a thing. She called her “heartless” and stormed out when the woman tried to apologize for her misstep.
Since then, the women haven’t spoken and some of their mutual friends have accused her of being rude for suggesting that a mother give her child away. But other friends have agreed with the suggestion, believing it was the best way to deal with the child.
Most commenters supported the Redditor, telling her that she was not the a—hole and that finding a suitable place for the child might be in the best interest of everyone involved.
Apparently, other people who read the story questioned the woman as to why she was not offering to help her friend take care of the disruptive child.
In an edit, she added that she does help from time to time with errands and transporting the boy to and from daycare.
She also wanted readers to know that she was not suggesting her friend give him up for adoption, but just wanted her to have more time to herself to allow her to recover and get healthy again.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.