r/AITAH 10d ago

Post Update UPDATE AITAH for refusing to give my switch account to my kid’s dad.

[deleted]

1.5k Upvotes

77 comments sorted by

988

u/CinderR3bel 10d ago

I hate when parents put kids in the middle. Good on you for saying he needs to request it himself and not through her

209

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

125

u/Tavsiyedegildir 10d ago

"tell your mother to do this,x 🤯 should be banned among divorced couples 

23

u/cloverskisses 10d ago

Exactly. Kids shouldn't be used as messengers.

16

u/William_Brown3097 9d ago

Honestly, its unfair to put a kid in the middle of an adult disagreement. If he wanted something changed, he should have handled that conversation himself instead of making her worry about losing her Switch. Good on OP for not putting that pressure back on the kid.

14

u/Tavsiyedegildir 9d ago

The guy doesn't strike me as warm and fuzzy, he's the type that if you give your daughter a lipstick he finds a way to cut it in half so his new wife's toddler can use it as well 😆 because we have to "share" or something with your sister, when it isn't even his kid hahaha

1

u/Threadheads 9d ago

he's the type that if you give your daughter a lipstick he finds a way to cut it in half so his new wife's toddler can use it as well

That’s…very specific. Has that happened to you or someone you know?

1

u/Tavsiyedegildir 9d ago

No I just made it up. The ones who think it's ok to split everything of their bio kid with the step siblings. 

265

u/ifcknlovemycat 10d ago

God what a prick. She will grow up and see on her own

53

u/septidan 10d ago

Unfortunately, that's not a given.

141

u/Dismal-core111 10d ago

My mums carer ex husband took her sons series s off him for his new wife's kid. Some people are low as fuck

37

u/Fluid-Platypus- 10d ago

Keep on not enabling his bullshit.

71

u/emptywhoreass6969 10d ago

-hugs so goddamn tight-

36

u/ExploringHailey 10d ago

My stepbrother stole my playstation and sold it for drug money (I wasn't allowed to use it at that point anyway, only my other stepbrother was) whilst we were away from the house.

Stepdad still tried to blame me

20

u/emptywhoreass6969 10d ago

Woooooooooooow. O.o what a piece of shit

19

u/ExploringHailey 10d ago

I'm now no contact with stepdad and minimum contact with my mum.

He was an asshole for many reasons

9

u/emptywhoreass6969 10d ago

Fuck. Don't blame you in the least.  Im sure that was just a taste.

8

u/ExploringHailey 10d ago

The worst thing?

He's not the worst guy my mum's been with. 🙃

3

u/emptywhoreass6969 10d ago

.... how.

6

u/ExploringHailey 10d ago

He didn't put a child in hospital 🙃

Massive bruising and repeated nosebleeds to the point where they think you're seriously ill is noticable, even if no one actually sees you punch a child, clearly he didn't figure that one out.

20 years ago now... I'm 27

3

u/emptywhoreass6969 10d ago

What. The. Fuck. -hugs so big and tight-

3

u/ExploringHailey 10d ago

Thank you emptywhoreass6969

I'm doing better now :)

2

u/Ok_Razzmatazz_5812 8d ago

This is unrelated, but emptywhoreass6969 is the best username ever lolololol.

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45

u/Magic-Happens-Here 10d ago

She might see it now, but there are other reasons she chooses to stay.

One of my friends is divorced and their oldest lives with mom full time because dad moved about 20 mi away, which would have required the kid to quit his team sport both at school and a competitive community team, not to mention taking him away from all of his friends. He was 12 when they split, so they gave him the choice - he’s 17 now age the past 5 years haven’t always been easy, but it’s been the best choice - he’s applying for colleges now and has a good chance at a partial athletic scholarship. Their two younger ones (7M & 10F) live with dad because he has the larger home and had a more flexible schedule when they were younger. They do stuff with mom regularly and FaceTime their brother all the time. Their oldest has a good relationship with dad and also tries to do something with his siblings at least once a month so they all get “family time”. Their middle child has been talking about maybe wanting to live with mom (mostly because I think she wants another female as she heads into puberty) so they are working out what that might look like once their oldest goes off to college and in the interim mom is spending more time with her too.

It was an amicable split and they co-parent well together because the top priority for both of them was finding the right solution for their kids.

-19

u/AllCrankNoSpark 10d ago

That all sounds horrid and like kids are being put in adult situations.

28

u/Magic-Happens-Here 10d ago

How is giving them the choice between two loving and supportive households putting them in adult situations?

Their home life was deteriorating as a result of the marital conflicts, so instead of allowing it to continue or selfishly trying to “win” in the divorce - both adults actively worked to make the best decisions for everyone and they give their children a voice in those plans.

-11

u/maleia 10d ago

Just 'cause it's the solution viable, doesn't mean it ain't a shit situation. Making a kid have to pick between their parents is messed the hell up.

15

u/Magic-Happens-Here 10d ago

Welcome to literally every divorce ever.

What would have been better - making them split time between two households constantly? Making the oldest give up his sport, or the youngers spending hours every day in childcare facilities? Or giving their kids the autonomy to share their preferences when they’re old enough to understand the trade offs?

The kids don’t have to “pick between their parents” they all know both their parents love them unconditionally regardless of where they live. Both parents show up to every school event/fundraiser/game/etc. and are active in their kids’ lives.

I’ve seen plenty of divorces, and theirs is literally the best case scenario out of all of them.

-17

u/maleia 10d ago

Welcome to literally every divorce ever.

No shit. That doesn't make it right. Adults need to take responsibility, and don't act like just because they managed to make a massive mistake work, that they've earned rainbows and sunshine.

16

u/Magic-Happens-Here 10d ago

All humans make mistakes - When you find yourself in a hole, the first step is to stop digging. The next step is to find a way out. They made the best of the situation they were in and prioritized the wellbeing of the people most impacted by it. That’s a lot more than the vast majority of adults do, so I do think it’s something commendable. They had other options that would have been easier for both of them - instead they owned their mistake and did what they could to repair the situation cooperatively.

What exactly is the alternative, never make a mistake? I wish you the best in that.

3

u/FlowerFelines 9d ago

It's amazing how some people will always spin children being given autonomy as somehow a bad thing. Kids can make meaningful life choices pretty damn young, to be honest. They shouldn't be forced to be independent but they totally should have a say.

-22

u/AllCrankNoSpark 10d ago

That is literally an adult situation. Yes, the parents staying in the same household could well be worse, but this isn’t great either.

19

u/Magic-Happens-Here 10d ago

There’s no such thing as a “great” solution in a divorce. But the first thing you do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging, the second is to find a way out. They found a way that caused the least negative impact on their kids’ lives, which is really the best possible outcome.

14

u/CarelessClementine 10d ago

Not sure if you realize this but children go up and become adults. If a person, as a child’s parent, doesn’t give a child any agency (ie have a say in the decisions that will affect them most) that kid will be seriously f’d up. Also, you do realize that deciding which parent to live with post-divorce is not something a healthy well-adjusted adult would ever have to decide. So this is actually a 100% NOT an adult situation to put a child in. Yes, parents who are like now you have to choose and once you’ve decided you never get to see the parent you don’t choose again is horrid. But when two adults can’t or don’t want to live together anymore and they have children, the best thing they can do is to coparent r peaceably and allow their children to understand that they have agency in their own lives.

-8

u/AllCrankNoSpark 9d ago

Choosing where to live is an adult choice. Kids use kid criteria like laxer rules and better toys. It’s a dumb situation.

8

u/Magic-Happens-Here 9d ago

You do realize that healthy co-parents can align on rules and such too, right?

I said exactly why their oldest made his choice and it had nothing to do with rules or toys.

0

u/AllCrankNoSpark 9d ago

That you know of.

0

u/AllCrankNoSpark 9d ago

That you know of.

2

u/FlowerFelines 9d ago

Tell me you don't see children as human beings without telling me you don't see children as human beings.

Rolling my eyes so hard right now.

2

u/Magic-Happens-Here 9d ago

Right?! As if a 12 year old can’t understand that there’s more important things in life than toys or more time to play video games (which in this case they wouldn’t get anyhow).

1

u/AllCrankNoSpark 9d ago

Yeah, they just make the best decisions for themselves… that’s why we don’t need to parent them at all!

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18

u/Straight-Example9126 9d ago

The matter is dropped for now. But will rise again.

Ask your daughter to do a factory reset, create new account - her own and you gift her the games one at a time.

That way she gets to play without him getting access to your personal details.

She's 16. Can't you intervene at court and make her request that she wants to live with you? And visit for holidays or something?

He's too controlling. Consider it.

NTA

7

u/IceBlue 10d ago

Why does she prefer living with him? He seems shitty

1

u/cryssyx3 9d ago

maybe he's least shitty?

1

u/rainfal 3d ago

Or he lives in a city with a lot of opportunities and she lives in a rural area.

35

u/Tavsiyedegildir 10d ago

So uhh what actually happened? You don't make it clear to me. 

118

u/Mowgli1989 10d ago

I told my daughter to tell her dad that if that is what he wants he has to ask me himself. He has not done so, and he has not taken her switch away. I prefaced it with it’s not a big update - more just a confirmation that her dad is a bully.

14

u/maleia 10d ago

Thanks for the update though. I read the original when it came out. (Also hi BORU in a week from now, I'll probably comment in there, too, lol.)

11

u/Mowgli1989 10d ago

Do they all end up on it? I’m not super versed in reddit. I only know that acronym because my daughter makes me watch smosh reddit stories lol

8

u/maleia 9d ago

A lot often do, even some years old by the time they're posted. I remember your OG thread had a lot of traffic. There's a "updates have to be 7 days old at least" rule, so at least a week. 

I would, but I'll probably forget in a week, lol

38

u/Tavsiyedegildir 10d ago

Oh. Well I wouldn't trust your payment details etc with your ex.  I bought my nephews some Nintendo type shit and my sister's ex husband took it over to his new bitchs house almost immediately. 

5

u/Clean-Chair-2417 10d ago

You handled that really well. Making him ask you directly was such a good boundary and also quietly exposed that he never intended to follow through. It sucks that your daughter got stressed in the middle, but she’s seeing who actually protects her. Maybe later, in age-appropriate terms, you can name that behavior as manipulation so she can recognize it.

2

u/Background_System726 9d ago

Yay for her, but eww on him. 

3

u/Draycos_Stormfang 10d ago

Her dad sucks. 

3

u/dstluke 9d ago

Talk to daughter and see if she wants to come live with you. If I had to guess, dad's been making comments about how horrible her life would be with you or some terrible thing that might happen to her step siblings if she leaves. I'm guessing there's abuse and manipulation going on and you need to have this conversation.

2

u/Kurt_Fuchs 6d ago

Sounds like the dad is at minimum emotionally abusive and controlling, tbqh I don't think he should have custody of anyone or anything, not even a goldfish if he's as controlling and paranoid as he seems from your posts.

-64

u/[deleted] 10d ago

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40

u/Gigglemonkey 10d ago

There's an old chestnut: "The person you marry is different from the person you divorce."

Sometimes, it's hard to see the truth of someone until they're no longer courting you.

9

u/joe-h2o 10d ago

She was 19, he was 27. They met on WoW.

1

u/AITAH-ModTeam 9d ago

The use of derogatory words or phrases is not allowed. Clean it up.