A lot of us have apprehensions about people visiting our homes, whether it’s a social occasion or for a repair or for something more unexpected.
But if someone is in need, most of us are pretty likely to open our homes to them, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Because he had kids, Redditor specialneedsrunaway did not agree with this, however.
But when his wife was furious at him for his way of thinking, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he had handled the situation poorly.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for yelling at my wife for potentially endangering our kids?”
The OP’s wife assisted a little girl who was lost.
“Yesterday a little girl (7) with heavy special needs ran away from her school and ended up in my backyard.”
“My wife is a SAHM to our 3 kids (6 [female], 3 [female], 6months [male]) and was home with our younger 2 when she eventually saw the little girl in our backyard.”
“It was pouring and the wind was very strong, so she went outside to bring the girl inside with our kids, even though she didn’t know who the girl was.”
“She eventually got the girl to come inside, dried her off, gave her one of my oldest daughter’s outfits, made her a snack, and then set her up with a movie on my daughter’s iPad before calling the police.”
The OP didn’t appreciate the news.
“After the police picked up the girl, she called me to tell me what happened.”
“I was furious because she let someone we don’t know into our house with our young kids.”
“She tried to excuse it by saying it was 40 degrees and pouring with wind up to 50 miles an hour and she didn’t want the girl to get sick.”
“I told her she could’ve put her on the screened-in porch if she wanted the girl to be away from the rain.”
“She argued that the girl was drenched and freezing, so she felt like she had to get her into some warm clothes.”
“Then she said that she didn’t want the girl to try to run away again while she called the police and waited for the police to get there, so she gave her a banana and played ‘Frozen’ to distract her.”
The OP still did not agree with what his wife had done.
“I asked what she would’ve done if the girl that she brought into our house had hurt our kids.”
“She yelled at me that our kids were napping and didn’t even know that there was someone in the house.”
“She then yelled at me for being ‘cold-hearted and cruel’ towards a 7-year-old.”
“She slept in the guestroom last night and is in there tonight, and she won’t speak to me, so I wanted to know if I was the a**hole.”
“I don’t think I did anything wrong, but my friend said I was being a d**because it was a 7-year-old girl, so I wanted to know if I was the a**hole.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some found the OP to be completely out of line.
“And their kids weren’t even in the room, they were napping in their own rooms, out of the way.”
“What, did OP think this 7-year-old girl (with special needs) was going to somehow evade a grownup and force her way into another room (or rooms) to attack children she didn’t even know were there?” – saucynoodlelover
“Special needs or not, the wife did the right thing. The girl could have been lost or abused, or any number of things, and this guy is threatened by a 7-year-old?”
“I’m so sad for his wife and his kids.” – mspuscifer
“YTA, The child needed help and your wife really stepped up.”
“I am sure she was watching the girl. I have no clue why you are so afraid of her.”
“I think your wife did something so kind and amazing and am surprised you don’t see it that way. That’s just me though.” – NewtWire
“I am a person who often lacks empathy and I don’t like children on the whole.”
“Even I would have brought the poor kid inside, made her comfortable and safe, and then called the authorities.”
“I mean, let’s say the one in a million did happen and the kid suddenly lost her shit and went wild, pretty sure a grown woman could restrain her or at least contain her in a room away from her own kids.”
“OP has huge issues if they look at a 7-year-old kid and immediately go to, ‘That’s one dangerous mofo right there.'” – yeet_and_defeat
Others agreed and said the OP was an ableist.
“He’s probably afraid of her because she’s disabled because he’s an ableist AH with no heart.”
“I hope his wife leaves seriously reconsiders sharing her life with him.” – thymeCapsule
“My nephew is this age with autism and has run away from school before.”
“I can only hope that if it ever happens again he finds someone like OP’s wife to help him, instead of someone like OP.” – Elliespaghetti669
“I really think that’s what made her a ‘danger’ was that she’s special needs.”
“What an ableist prick.” – symphony789
“I’m seething; what kind of monster would allow a child to stand in the rain (even on the porch) without said child being brought inside.”
“My daughter is special needs (nothing too serious, but it’s a result of being relentlessly bullied at school) and I would be heartbroken if she wound up in OP’s garden and he treated her like a criminal.”
“YTA x 1,000,000.” – gooderj
While the OP thought that he was right to take such precautions for his children, the subReddit certainly didn’t think so.
While his thoughts would have been more justified if the person in need was an adult, the truth of the matter was that it was a 7-year-old exposed to the natural elements.
Surely if something had happened, his wife could have handled it.
But fortunately for the little girl, she met the wife, not the husband, and could be safely returned home to her family.