Breakingmom Tales: Or A Collection of Stupidity & Dumb Choices

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bell_flower
Here's another one. Do the math--this woman is 34 and had her first kid at age 16. She is now married to a guy and cranked out THREE KIDS with him. (All girls.) It appears 3/4 kids are on the spectrum. (Of course they are, but I do wonder why she has to "get a plate" for the 18 year old kid. Is the kid too dumb to get her own food?)

The mom is asking if she's TAH because her husband copped an attitude with her when he didn't like her "tone" when they trucked the kids to attend a fambilee function. (A wedding, naturally. eyes)

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AITA for removing my pregnant wife's hands from my plate and telling her to stop fucking grabbing food off my plate while I'm eating when she has her own plate in front of her?

My wife is seven months pregnant and I understand that being pregnant is not easy. You are growing a whole human being inside you and naturally you are going to have to eat more but my wife won't stop eating my food. At first I let it slide because I was trying to be understanding but it just didn't stop.

Most times after coming back from work and looking forward to eating my only meal of the day, she will casually start eating off my plate while I'm eating. This is after she has eaten her own meal earlier. When we eat at the same time, she basically will do a back and forth between our plates.

Last night was the final straw, I had a long day at work and was very hungry. When we started eating she reached for my plate to grab something before even touching her food first and I pushed her hands away and told her to stop eating my fucking food and that I'm really tired of not being able to eat my food in peace while she gets to.

She started crying and told me that I could try and understand that it's because she is pregnant that she gets really hungry and can't help it instead of being an ass about it.

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These past months I've been having problems with my family and its gotten so bad I had to step away from it because too much was happening. I honestly felt stuck in one place while no one was really there to help me, I'm very stressed. Op(32F), spouse(35M)

I've been in my step kids life since they were 6 and now their both pre teens, in that stage of parenting it gets overwhelming for me. I'm the only mother figure they know, they call me mom, if they need anything they come straight to me. Now I'm having my first child so a new addition, I'm happy I could have a child of my own, my stepkids are still my kids and first.

My step kids began to act out and I will say this was the second week of school where they would get smart with me, I was told that my baby wouldn't make it, said my stepson. I understand he's in the teen stage but it hurt when he said that my baby wouldn't make it. When their friends were over they would change their entire personality to impress them, while they impressed their friends they disrespected me. I was hurt because I had known them for years and hearing them say hurtful things to me hurt, on top of that my husband didn't seem to help, he would check them but his words didn't matter to them.

The kids have chores around the house, and the only thing I wanted them to do was do their laundry and take out the trash, in their mind I was making them be “ slaves” they said. They told me I should be doing the work and not them because their just kids, this new attitude was shocking, I asked them about it because they didn't care, and they would ignore me or go to their room. They stole money out of my purse to go to the store with their friends, they broke my mother's vase and I didn't know until days later.

Recently my step daughter got into a fight at school, mind you this is a new school, the fight happened because a girl was looking at her funny! I don't think fighting for a dumb reason is okay, my step daughter then hit the girl because of it and when she got home I lectured her about why she was wrong. She then went on and told me I couldn't tell her anything because I was not her mom, to be honest, I'm that moment I couldn't say anything, I let her have it. It's just that everyone does not care, I had to go to the doctor because my blood pressure was high and I was told it could harm the baby, my husband didn't even show interest in me, surely not my health.

After that situation I thought about it, she was right I wasn't her mom so I stopped doing everything around the house, I didn't cook, or help with work, or anything. My doctor already told me my blood pressure was high so I knew I needed a break, my husband was no help and ignored anything the kids said and did, he told me I was doing too much and to leave them alone because I'm not the mom, and that's why I told him to discipline his kids or get a divorce. Aita?

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These past months I've been having problems with my family and its gotten so bad I had to step away from it because too much was happening. I honestly felt stuck in one place while no one was really there to help me, I'm very stressed. Op(32F), spouse(35M)

I've been in my step kids life since they were 6 and now their both pre teens, in that stage of parenting it gets overwhelming for me. My doctor already told me my blood pressure was high so I knew I needed a break, my husband was no help and ignored anything the kids said and did, he told me I was doing too much and to leave them alone because I'm not the mom, and that's why I told him to discipline his kids or get a divorce. Aita?

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I live in an area that has "ran out of funding" for childcare assistance. I do not have family or friends that are able to watch my 4 children (one year old twins, two year old, and four year old). My significant other is a disabled veteran, I opted out of disability to work, and now social services are telling me that they no longer provide assistance for affording childcare. I would have to make over $100/hour to afford just the costs of childcare, not including costs of living. I do not qualify for other financial assistance. They told me I can inquire salvation army and the like for clothing handouts and assistance with gifts for holidays. I am devastated that I've worked very hard to be self sufficient and I am now unable to pursue my career or directly afford to raise my children. I grew up in poverty and want my children to have a different experience. How can I provide for my children without having childcare?

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No judgement here! I'm sorry you're going through this bromo!

My then stepdaughter 12 was similar about our baby when we were expecting. She pretended she was happy about it but she was NOT! She was actively trying to terminate my pregnancy via methods her father's extended family were telling her to do. (Trip me, cause me to slip, kick me in the stomach, poison me, cause a car accident etc etc)

When the bub was born, she became more blatant and would talk about baby death A LOT when her father wasn't present, which was terrifying me!!! Ended up leaving him because he didn't take the risk seriously (she was violent and abusive and i just couldn't take anymore, and he refused to support me, defending his little golden princess instead!) She's with her mother now, and 2 years later she STILL hates me and the baby (toddler now), but thankfully we don't have to see her!

Anyway, seeing as yours is your daughter the only solutions I can think of are therapy for her (because this is not normal for her or sustainable for you!) and your idea of her dad taking her at least on a regular schedule to give you some breaks.

Huge hugs and solidarity!!!

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This is starting to feel so ridiculous with my spouses “co parent” that she called CPS on my husband. They have a baby together, he has limited time right now due to a step up process and her resistance to allowing him more time amicably. Child is 10 months old. We have a baby on the way and 2 older children combined. There is food in the home, baby toys, play pen, baby food and formula. Baby is taken care of. We have a smaller house right now and will be moving eventually into a bigger home for space. But until then, this is where we are at.

CPS is for child abuse and neglect… none of that is going on. She did this to her older child’s father and although I don’t have all that information, she talks possessive over the baby, blames husband for a poopy diaper, blames him for anything really. The mediation they had recently even noticed something was off from her, local community members have even said the same thing. It’s not just us not liking her, she seems seriously mentally unstable and possessive. Wants him to really have no involvement with their child. My husband does not interact with her in their parenting app, keeps it simple to exactly what baby ate, diaper changes, naps.

We missed the cps lady yesterday but she left her card on the door. I know they have their process they have to follow but this is insane. He’s caring, he’s involved, he has full custody of his other child due to legit parenting concerns by the other parent. And idk. I guess I want to vent and ask any opinions on how to handle this? He has a lawyer and will be contacting them today to discuss this as well. We just feel this won’t be the last issue with her and we don’t want our other children subjected to this or at risk either. There’s food in the home for everyone, clean clothes. It’s a smaller space so some clutter but we’ve been working on it. I’m just at a loss for how someone can be so hellbent in this way.

Edit- thank you to everyone that was informative and sharing their experiences to this. I should know better being Reddit but those judging because my husband has a 10 month old has nothing to do with this. We are a team and have older children from previous relationships/situations and it’s worrisome when someone makes false claims and trying to do anything to cause conflict. They were equivalent to a one night stand type of situation before we met. My husband has been using a lawyer for his case of the 10 month old and has taken the initiatives to tackle this situation head on and also speaking with his attorney to know what to expect, if false calls persists how to handle it, but we are a team and there’s more than one child in the home, so regardless, anyone would be a bit off put into a situation like this, I would think. Everyone is cared for properly, no abuse, no neglect, food in the home, clean & new clothes for children. Again thank you to those being genuine in responding.

Edit 2- honestly guys, this post is about a cps situation, not my relationship. We are grown adults here who decided we wanted to grow our family and become one. We asked each other the hard questions, honest with one another about anything and everything. There are people who marry sooner than later and have great marriages, we know some! My husband is loving and caring, my family loves him. I appreciates a man that actually steps up and is involved in his children’s life. He’s had 2 other actual girlfriends prior to this situation and neither became pregnant. We live and we learn. It would be more of a red flag if he was dipping out on his newer baby. We both wanted the marriage and both wanted another baby together. Finally, a situation that we both can parent without the extreme issues that can come with co parenting. I do not care that Reddit has not approved of my marriage, LOL. Our family has, my husband and I are happy together. I have met his first child’s mother and are civil and kind to each other. His second has a history of calling cps on her first child’s father and when people in the community plus the mediator call out something is off with HER. Well Reddit only gets one small take on such a larger picture. THANK YOU to everyone who has been supportive, given legitimate advice and cast no judgement. Maybe in 5 years I’ll come back with an update on our happy home and big family and moved into our bigger house we are working towards Have a blessed day everyone and hope you have a wonderful day learn to be kinder and less judgmental, I guarantee none of y’all being negative are perfect human beings

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This has been a long standing debate between my husband and I. We have three kids (1,4,5) and a dog. I stay at home because our middle child is only in half day preschool and daycare for our youngest is outrageously expensive and my husband works he’s active duty military. We used to split chores around the house where I would take on the majority but he would do the dishes and make dinner for us and help with bath time for the kids and help get them in bed. Recently my husband has told me that since I stay at home that all of the cleaning and everything pertaining to the kids, even when he is home, is my responsibility because it’s my job and if I want help with anything I need to ask because he doesn’t know what needs to be done.

I’ve told him that he’s capable of seeing if things are dirty and picking things up or putting shoes away or feeding the dog or letter the dog outside or even something simple like getting the kids a snack or even bring dirty clothes down or just put them in the laundry basket. He will come home and sit down and literally barely move from his spot on the couch unless it’s to go to the bathroom or grab a snack for himself. Im constantly running around taking care of everyone and everything I don’t even get a day to sleep in on the weekends even if I ask it’s not guaranteed he will wake up with the kids. Is this typical? Am I the asshole for thinking this is ridiculous? I feel like I’m being treated like a nanny and a maid but every time I say that I’m made to feel like I’m being ungrateful and over dramatic because he will do things if I ask him to do them. I just don’t feel like I should have to ask my husband to help me take care of the kids we both made when he’s home and I don’t feel like I should have to ask him to pick things up when he sees a mess if I’m doing something else at the time. Typically how does the dynamic go when one parent stays at home and one works? Am I being an asshole with this and just need to get over myself and just live with always having to ask if I want his help with anything at all?

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bell_flower
"I grew up in poverty and want my kids to have a different experience."

Well how about not having FOUR KIDS IN FOUR YEARS?

Bonus: her "significant other" is disabled. Further comments reveal that he's NOT the father of all these kids and the youngest kids are one year old twins.

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I'm 19f. My bf is 37m. I understand that a lot of people view age gaps like this really negatively. This is a healthy relationship and we love each other though. My family, especially my parents, have definitely been concerned about the age gap. They approve of the relationship more now and like him more now (well some of my family) but my parents are still kinda concerned, specifically my dad, even though he does like him more now because he has seen how much he loves me and how happy I am with him. But they’re also concerned about us talking about getting married.

I’m in college rn, but I would love to be a sahm someday (we want that more traditional lifestyle as a couple where he’s more of the breadwinner and I stay at home and be a mother someday - we’re both Catholic, and my whole family is also Catholic).

What’s your perspective about it or experience with it especially if you did get married young around this age? Any advice about this? Just looking for other perspectives so try to be nice about it if you reply, especially about the age gap

Before I get asked this, we started dating when I was 18 (so I was an adult when we started dating). I turned 19 two months ago.

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I'm 19f. My bf is 37m. I understand that a lot of people view age gaps like this really negatively. This is a healthy relationship and we love each other though. My family, especially my parents, have definitely been concerned about the age gap. They approve of the relationship more now and like him more now (well some of my family) but my parents are still kinda concerned, specifically my dad, even though he does like him more now because he has seen how much he loves me and how happy I am with him. But they’re also concerned about us talking about getting married.

I’m in college rn, but I would love to be a sahm someday (we want that more traditional lifestyle as a couple where he’s more of the breadwinner and I stay at home and be a mother someday - we’re both Catholic, and my whole family is also Catholic).

• He may already have kids and because she is really young she may not see the warning signs of this and just believe him if he lies about it. If there are kids I bet they will appear only after they are married and she is actively trying to get pregnant.
• He is 37 and wants brats. There is also more than a decent chance he could have kids out there he has no knowledge of currently. Assuming he has always wrapped it up is a very naive assumption.
• She is in college full-time, and he (presumably) works full-time. At this rate it could take years for them to truly know each other. This is one way abusers work, anyone can be pretend to be a great person for a limited duration. Especially a 37-year-old can do this because he would learn how to behave after being rejected after 20 years of dating experience.
• Something about the age gap and them both wanting to have brats ASAP gives me potential red pill vibes from him. And we do know red pillers want young women who they can control.
• He wants a much younger wife who he can control so that he can deeply enmesh her to where it is impossible for her to leave him because she is a baybee factory with no ambitions or work experience
• He is looking to the future! He wants a wife that is young enough to take care of him when he is old and having a wife that is half his age accomplishes this. She can go from raising their brats to his caretaking because if he is around 40 when they marry that is exactly what their ages project. She can rip out some pups and after about 25 years they'll be adults. Then she can take care of her aging husband. And after that she can raise the grandbrats because she'll still be relatively young! Lucky her!
• He may have a thing for much younger women. If so, she'll likely be replaced once she gains weight from pignasty or is over the age of 25. Then she'll have to deal with his new wife and split custody and the fact that she has no way to make money will catch up to her and she'll be a poor single mahm
• She indicates she is in college "rn" and they want to get married. Sounds like she is prioritizing marriage over college as there is no mention of her wanting to complete a degree of any kind.

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bell_flower

I copied it because if it follows the usual trajectory, her ass will get roasted (we can only hope), and she's going to get butt hurt, and she will pull the whole thing altogether.

You know she won't listen anyway because she's in luuuv and she's being raised in a broodmare culture.

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My husband is depressed and won’t get help

I’ll try to make this as short as possible. But my husband (32) and I (27) have been married for 6 years but together for 8. We suffered with infertility for the first 5 years of our relationship and now we finally have a 2yo daughter through IVF. He got his CDL and started trucking so we could afford IVF, and then quit when our daughter was 6months. I feel like his depression really started when he was on the road. Now he works at a local gas station. He has his IT degree but he hasn’t been successful in finding a company to take him.

He’s been unhappy with everything since we’ve been together though. Unhappy with every single house we’ve lived in, unhappy with every single vehicle, unhappy with every single job (and he’s gotten a new job every year). He tried starting his own business but since it didn’t immediately kick off he shut everything down. He actually cheated on me back in August and I forgave him and we’ve moved on cause he said it was his depression and he was looking for happiness. He was on zoloft & prozac (at different times) and he absolutely refuses to take it again, even though I noticed a night and day difference in him. He says he “doesn’t want to live life in a bubble”. But he’s so angry. He’s breaking things in our home, he’s destroying our things because he’s so angry.

I just started going back to work because he’s been throwing it in my face that I stay at home, & I thought the extra income would make him happy, but now he’s complaining about having to watch our daughter while i’m gone for 5 hours on wednesdays, 8 hours on thursdays, and 4 hours on friday. He loves playing video games so while our daughter was at her grandmas we played a couple games of warzone together and he literally snapped his headset in half & then put it in the sink because we lost a game. and then crashed his hard drive on purpose. I sat in bed with him after and snuggled him and told him that I loved him & he’s all i’ve ever wanted, and that I know it’s his depression that’s made him a different person and that i’ll love him through it. But selfishly, im tired of living in a home with an angry man. I grew up with an angry man as a father and I don’t want my daughter to feel the way I felt. I love him and I want him to be happy but I truly don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help him. He refuses all help. Can anyone shed any light on what I can do? How do I get my husband back?

I would like to add- he doesn’t act violent when our daughter is around. usually these things are happening when she’s with her grandparents or when she’s asleep. not that it excuses his behavior, but I would never allow that around my child. i’ve been a stay at home mom since 2022 when I was pregnant, I have nothing in my name. this past week was my first week on the job so I have literally $0. We only have one vehicle, I don’t have a car. I have nowhere to go. I have called the court house to talk to somebody about how I go about filing for separation so I can get some kind of state help in the meantime. I’m not completely oblivious to what I should do, and if anyone else was telling me this I would’ve told them to leave yesterday. But I don’t want to put myself in a situation where I cannot provide for my daughter. After reading all the comments, i’m going to have a very serious conversation with him and give him a stern ultimatum. Either he sees a psychiatrist and gets help, or i’m leaving and I mean it. this has been building up for 2 years now and these comments really made me realize it is not my responsibility to make him get help.

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I’m reaching out because I’ve been struggling with some heavy issues lately, and it’s been tough to talk about openly. As a single, divorced Christian father, I’m experiencing serious challenges with feelings of lust that are affecting my life in ways I never expected. Being single and not sexually active has led me to deal with loneliness and unmet needs, which sometimes causes my mind to cross boundaries I know aren’t right.

Recently, I’ve started noticing my teenage daughter’s appearance in ways that make me uncomfortable. She’s growing up and experimenting with more mature and revealing clothing, and while I understand it’s natural for her to want to express herself, I feel sick for even having these thoughts. This conflict goes against everything I believe in and was raised to uphold as a Christian, and I’m filled with shame and disgust for what I feel.

Every time I catch myself noticing things I shouldn’t, I’m overwhelmed by these feelings, and I desperately want them to go away. I keep praying and trying to push these thoughts aside, but it feels like they have a hold on me that I can’t shake. This struggle makes me feel like a failure as a father and as a man of faith.

I’m looking for real, genuine advice from anyone who understands the complexities of temptation, especially from a Christian perspective. If anyone here has dealt with similar struggles or knows how to channel these thoughts back toward what is good and right, I would be grateful for any guidance. I apologize for bringing this up, as I know it’s a difficult topic, but I really needed to get this off my chest. I’ll probably delete this later, but any understanding advice would mean a lot to me right now.

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bell_flower
Holy Shit (pun intended)

I cannot even process this one. WTF is going on with this dude? All I can do is copy before he removes it.

"Kristian divorced father" is "tempted" by his teenaged daughter.

WTF?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeopleAdvice/comments/1gj9h0i/im_overwhelmed_by_guilt_what_can_i_do/

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serial poster perv
I've been dealing with some challenging issues lately, and it’s starting to feel overwhelming. As a single, divorced Christian man, I find myself struggling with intense feelings of lust. This has become a real nuisance, especially because I know these thoughts don’t align with my faith and upbringing.

What makes it particularly frustrating is that it’s not about pornography—it doesn’t interest me. Instead, it’s more about the lustful, even taboo, ideas that keep creeping into my mind. Being single and not sexually active adds to the challenge, as it can feel like these thoughts are harder to ignore.

I believe in waiting until marriage for sex, so casual relationships aren’t an option. This commitment to my faith is important to me, but it also leaves me feeling stuck sometimes.

Is there anyone here, maybe other men who are older or more experienced, who has dealt with something similar? I’m really seeking guidance on how to overcome this struggle and find a way to keep my thoughts in line with my faith. Any advice or support would be deeply appreciated.

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September 1st of this year, my husband Involuntarily Committed me and make allegations that were taken at face value and without any evidence. While at the hospital, I found out that I was pregnant and he was notified of this. He went through with a restraining order which again had lies written all over it and was granted it for a year to include my one year old daughter because the judge was concerned that I was involuntarily committed. After this, I became homeless and ended up in a woman’s shelter putting my life back together piece by piece. Now, I’m currently three months pregnant and my husband has been using the parenting app to ask about the baby. He also is serving me an action to take sole custody of my daughter from me and sole custody of the baby in my belly. What kind of recourse do I have? Can he do that? I heard that after three months it is considered prenatal abandonment and it can make him lose his rights to the baby.

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When I was 22, I had two kids under the age of 2 with my ex-fiancee. I came home from work one day after picking up the kids from daycare to find my ex had left. Took all his clothes, our emergency money, and every piece of electronics from our apartment and left. I called everyone we knew for months to try and find him. All I got from his parents was he was okay and he would contact me when he was ready. Finally, after about six months, his sister admitted he had been cheating on me for years. His affair partner had graduated from college, got a job offer across the country, and he had moved with her. My oldest was 1.5 years old, my youngest was about three months old, and I was a single mom by the ripe old age of 22. We haven't heard from him since.

Honestly, the relationship was shit and it wasn't a huge adjustment to being a single mom. I finally realized he was truly gone and tried to date again. I had strict rules on dating men. They wouldn't meet my kids until we had dated for at least six months and were seriously talking about a future. I would only go on a date after the babysitter and I put the kids to bed at 7:30 and had to be at home by 11 to relieve the sitter and go to bed to be up in the morning with my kids. I had 100% custody 100% of the time. I couldn't just leave to go do anything spontaneous. And I certainly wasn't going to spend the night anywhere. As you can imagine, this didn't go well.

I usually got three responses to my dating rules. One, I didn't put enough effort into the relationship. Two, the men weren't ready to be dads in their early to mid twenties. And three, they didn't want to parent another man's kids. Which, even then, I thought was fair enough. Rarely did I go on a date with a man more than a couple times.

At 25, I came to the realization a relationship just wasn't in the cards for me. I quit dating completely, went into therapy, and started taking night classes at a community college instead of spending money on sitters to go on dates. I pretty much focused on giving my kids everything they needed and most of what they wanted. Those years were crazy. I scratched my way up the corporate ladder. I got a higher education. And when I wasn't at work or school, I was with my kids.

My kids and I did everything together. If I wanted to go to the movies, we went to the movies (age appropriate of course). If I wanted to get my hair done, we went and got our hair cut/done. When I went to therapy, we went to therapy. I took the fact that I had to be both mom and dad very seriously. My social life was basically zero. If I couldn't take my kids to an event, we didn't go. We called ourselves the Three Musketeers.

I also became what my therapist called "hyper-independent." I cleaned my house, mowed my lawn, did all of the repairs, took out my own trash, etc on my own. If I didn't know how to do it, I learned. I put a lot of pressure on myself to not need anyone for anything. My kids and I were our own island. Very rarely did I ask for help with anything.

My kids grew into wonderful people. They're adults now and have "adult jobs." They're both in long-term relationships (4 years and 2 years). They are smart, responsible, and the two most amazing people I have the honor of knowing. But, like most adults in long-term relationships and good paying jobs, they moved out. We still talk every day/two days. We still hang out once a week or so. But I am very cognoscente of the fact they need to live their lives. I'm not their everything anymore. They went and grew up on me.

About six months ago, my kids had a "come to Jesus" talk with me. They were worried I spent too much time alone and wanted me to start dating again. I agreed that it might be nice to dip my toes back into the dating pool.

The issue I'm having is I state pretty clearly on dating sites my children are adults and I'm not looking for more kids. For some reason, many men take that as I'm not looking to give birth to more children. But no. I'm not looking for any children at all. But for some reason, this is getting lost in translation and I predominantly match with men with younger kids.

The men who have contacted me have children anywhere in ages 4 to 14. I explain that I'm not interested in dating someone with minor children. They get angry at me since I'm a single mom and I should know how hard it is. And they're right. I am a single mom. I know how hard it is. And I'll be damned if I do it again.

They get mad when I state basically the same things I heard as a single mom in my 20s. They wouldn't have time for a relationship. I don't want to go back to a parental relationship. And I don't want to parent another woman's children.

I get the pushback the kids are with their mom's half the time. That means half the time their with their dad and I don't want a man ditching his kids to go on a date to hang with me. One dad was like, "But I only have them every other weekend!" Like, dude, do you think only seeing your kids four times a month is a turn on? Especially to a single mom? Or they're like, "You won't even meet them the first year!" So that means at a minimum if it goes anywhere, I'll have to deal with a teenager for a couple years.

They can't seem to understand that I'm done. Like done done raising kids even on the perimeter. I did my time. I'm on parole. I have reached the Promised Land.

I don't want to have to cancel dates because a kid got sick. I don't want to go to recitals and concerts of kids who aren't mine. I don't want to sit through sports stuff, wash uniforms, or figure out what healthy stuff to make for dinner. Even though I am a "baby momma", I don't want to deal with one even if they're a lovely woman. I don't want to figure out schedules or plan kid-friendly stuff on vacations and such. Because even if a guy says I wouldn't have to do any of that, I don't know how a man would simply split his life totally in half and still be a responsible parent. In my eyes, if you're a parent Wednesday through Saturday, you're also a parent on Sunday through Tuesday even if the kids aren't with you.

One man got really mad at me and said I must hate dads since my kids dad left me. I asked him if when he was in his early 20s would he date a single mom? He said no but this is different. I said, "Just because you were 24 and I am now 44, nothing is different. The same reasons why you wouldn't have dated me, I don't want to date you." He called me a hypocritical b*tch. I blocked him but it bothered me enough I'm awake late on a Saturday night thinking maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe I'm not giving them enough of a shot. Or maybe I should get a dog and wait another ten years and try again when most men's children are adults, too.

So that's that, Reddit. Am I an asshole for not wanting to date single dads even though I am a single mom? I don't think I am but am now second guessing myself.

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Today I was once again reminded of why I'm childfree. My mother in law organizes parties for a living and she did a gender reveal recently that ended in tears. This couple arrived with their family and my MIL had given everyone an envelope with the baby's gender inside. She kept teasing them with fake reveals. Like at one point she had someone lift a sticker that had writing underneath that said "it's a b..............aby!" but instead of lifting it all the way to see that, the dad just got super excited and was shouting "I SAW A B, I SAW A B!".

When they realized it was a joke, they looked annoyed. Then my MIL told someone specific to open their envelope and announce the gender. They said, "it's a girl!" to which my MIL revealed it was another tease, and that three envelopes with 'girl' and three envelopes with 'boy' had been handed out.

Apparently she had given the envelope with the real gender to the grandmother and told her to hide her envelope when she asked everyone else to open theirs. When the grandmother realized she had the real envelope, she started crying and saying "I have the gender?? Me?".

She opened it and revealed it was a girl. The dad looked angry and the mom IMMEDIATELY started sobbing in his arms and saying she was always going to be broke. And he said "we'll try again" like HUH? So these people got pregnant knowing it was a 50/50 shot at a girl or a boy, and still did it. And now they were crying at the gender reveal.

My MIL was trying to smooth things over and reminded them that they already have a little girl so they won't need to buy new baby/toddler clothes so it would be cheaper. Mom then said "I'm going to have to buy prom dresses!" Ma'am did you really conceive two entire human beings just to try for a boy and your biggest concern is...prom dresses? And they're going to try for a boy again, so I highly doubt money is the actual issue here.