Children are pretty quick to understand emotions, and they can immediately tell if a parent really cares about them. In fact, if their mother and father don’t treat them right, they reciprocate those feelings, and I think they have the right to do so.
Even these kids felt like they didn’t have a father, since the guy was mostly absent and favored his stepkids over them. When this realization hit him, the man had the audacity to pin the blame on his ex-wife. Scroll down to uncover all the family drama that followed!
More info: Reddit
Children are quick to understand whether their parents are treating them right, and even reciprocate the emotions
Image credits: Freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster gave her child's old laptop to her brother's son, but her ex-husband and his wife started berating her for wasting money
Image credits: pressfoto / Magnific (not the actual photo)
She shut them both down, but a new conflict arose after her ex discovered that their kids didn't think of him as their father because he kept prioritizing his stepkids
Image credits: karlyukav / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Despite his absence from the kids' lives, the guy had the nerve to blame the poster for their behavior, but she told him that he only had himself to blame
Image credits: rawpixel.com / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster also gave her ex-husband a reality check that he had been an awful father to their kids, and she got a call from his mom as he had a meltdown
Image credits: Wavebreak Media / Magnific (not the actual photo)
However, when she went to a party at her ex-sister-in-law's house, the poster told her ex-mother-in-law about how her son was behind on child support payments
Image credits: Glittering-Mail-117
That's why the woman gave money to the poster, which angered her ex, as it was cutting down his inheritance, and he retaliated by not showing up to pick up their kids
In today’s family drama, the original poster (OP) vents about her ex’s neglect of their children. They separated after he cheated on her, and started prioritizing his stepkids over their kids. She had shared custody and tried to push him to spend time with their sons, but he always had an excuse ready to shirk responsibility. Eventually, she gave up trying to persuade him to pay them attention.
Things got dramatic when the guy finally tried to “bond” with them, but he quickly realized that both felt like they didn’t have a dad. He had the nerve to blame the OP for this, but she quickly pointed out that it was his own fault for acting distant with the children. Well, she soon gave an update that she met him and told him the truth that he had been a bad father to their children.
Things escalated at her ex-sister-in-law’s child’s birthday party, where they had all gathered. Her sons were acting distant with their dad, so their grandma called them out. The elder child retaliated, saying that their dad and his wife didn’t respect their mom and spoke behind her back, so they didn’t respect him either. Well, it was like a wake-up call for their grandma when she saw the truth about her son.
She also found out that he was 2 months behind on his child support payment, so she slapped and berated him. Later, she showed up at the poster’s house with cash, but this angered her son. Apparently, it would be cut off from his inheritance, so he retaliated by not showing up to pick up the kids. The OP was sick of his behavior, but she was still fighting with him for the new custody agreement.
Image credits: SkelDry / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Sadly, studies suggest that parental favoritism is quite common, occurring in as many as 65% of U.S. families. Experts highlight that children are aware of such differential treatment from an early age. It’s associated with a host of negative outcomes such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression. The kids also had to adjust to their blended family, which is difficult.
Research emphasizes that stepparents should never: badmouth the ex, actively counter the other parents’ wishes, interfere with co-parenting discussions, or assume a position of authority. However, their stepmom was doing all of these things, so the children were naturally disrespectful towards their dad. No wonder they acted distant with him, and felt like he wasn’t their father.
Professionals point out that growing up with an emotionally absent father can have long-lasting effects on children well into adulthood. They might end up with low self-esteem, anger, rage, and even behavioral issues. Netizens expressed concern for the children but applauded their mom for slamming the dad with the truth and exposing him to her ex-mother-in-law.
They pointed out that when a mother who supported her son’s affair turned against him, it proved that he had really messed up. Also, it was ironic that he wanted to be a better dad, but when his mom gave them his inheritance money, he got upset and didn’t pick them up. Alas, some humans never change. Don’t you agree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Netizens were glad that the ex-mother-in-law finally saw the truth and sided with the poster rather than her own son, who was a terrible father
