Wife At Her 'Wits End' Despite Her Husband Apologizing For Repeatedly Putting Their Baby In Dangerous Situations
She claimed that her husband appears clueless about the ways that he endangers their baby's life.
Dusan Petkovic / Shutterstock A mother is seeking advice on what measures she should take after noticing that her husband repeatedly keeps putting their nearly two-year-old son in unsafe predicaments.
Posting to the subreddit "r/Parenting," a woman shared that her husband is becoming a hazard around their son and she is unsure how to go about fixing the problem.
A woman claimed that her husband has repeatedly endangered their son's life while watching him.
In her Reddit post, she explained that this issue with her husband started shortly after their son was born, nearly two years ago. She recalled asking her husband to watch their son, who was only a couple of days old at that point, while she took a shower.
"When I looked out from the bathroom once I was finished showering, I saw that the newborn was alone on the (high!) changing table while my husband was two rooms away making a protein shake," she wrote. To make matters worse, their dog was at the bottom of the changing table, trying to knock it down and disturb the baby with no adult supervision nearby.
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Her husband ended up apologizing and promising that he would learn about infant and child safety. She acknowledged that since her husband doesn't have much experience she decided to let the incident go, and has even tried to help him foster a safe environment for their son.
However, in the past week, more dangerous situations involving him being negligent with their child have come up.
"He left the baby outside in the fenced yard on a busy street to play. When I asked him where the baby was, he said, 'Oh he’s just outside playing. He should be good on his own for 10-15 minutes,'" she continued. She made sure to point out that no one would be able to see the baby playing outside from their house and he was pretty much being unsupervised where anything could have happened to him.
Another incident involved him taking their baby across the street to the playground while they were all having a picnic in the park. When she told her husband that their baby was too close to the street, he argued that it was fine and he was only playing.
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"My child is ONE year old and we were now across the street from him as my husband let him wander ALONE to go play on the playground. I immediately ran after him and stayed with him as he played," she added
In another terrifying situation, her husband told her that he had no problem watching their son while he was grilling outside. However, when she came back outside and asked where their baby was, he told her that he was inside and when she went to look, she found her son alone in the basement around sharp tools and dangerous appliances.
"I found the baby at the top of the stairs, which have no railing, about to jump 10ft down onto the concrete floor. I screamed and ran to grab him before he could fall," she recalled.
She admitted that she's at her 'wit's end' and doesn't trust her husband around their baby anymore.
She explained her confusion about what to do regarding her husband and finding a solution that doesn't place her as the around-the-clock primary parent. She claimed that she believes her husband might be on the spectrum but he hasn't been officially diagnosed.
"He wants to be a dad and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt our baby on purpose. He’s just a 'special kind of stupid' about this," she wrote in her post.
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In the comments section, many people were ablaze with opinions and suggestions on the best method of action that she should take against her husband to help protect their child.
"I mean you absolutely cannot leave him alone with your child at this point. He has nearly gotten your child seriously injured or killed so many times. It’s just luck protecting you from a tragedy so far," one Reddit user wrote. "Make him take parenting classes and hire a babysitter for the times you cannot watch the baby until he learns how to be a safe parent."
Another user added, "I don’t think you can leave your baby with him for a moment. He needs parenting classes and some therapy or coaching to deal with the massive holes in his common sense."
At the end of the day, this situation involving her husband and their son is incredibly frightening, especially because of how close their baby came to something fatal happening. Whether or not her husband is truly on the spectrum, it shouldn't serve as an excuse for his behavior.
Bringing up the topic of parenting classes, as many other Redditors suggested, could prove to bring about a change if he is also truly open to figuring out the best safety measures for his son.
Not having him be alone with their baby is a difficult decision as he is the father and does love his child. Unfortunately, he seems to be struggling with some of the basics that go along with being a dad. Until he can prioritize protecting and keeping his child safe it seems to be the only option for this mom.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.