If there's one thing all divorced parents agree on, it's that the happiness and well-being of their children must remain their absolute top priority.
Which sometimes means that they will need to remain in communication and work together.
In some instances, however, one parent must give the other space.
Redditor Open_Specific6008 shared custody of a 12-year-old son with her ex-husband.
The original poster (OP) also went to great lengths to ensure that her son was cared for.
The OP's ex-husband learned of his ex-wife's admirable efforts to provide for their son in the future and asked if he could contribute to it.
A request the OP flatly refused.
After her ex-husband called her a "jerk" for doing so, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**hole" (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA For 'hiding' my child's savings account from my ex and not letting him contribute?"
The OP explained why they felt the need to exclude her ex-husband from a matter concerning their son:
"My ex and I divorced 8 years ago."
"We have a 12 year old son together."
"We don't discuss finances other than child support."
"I don't care for any money he may or may not give to our child directly."
"Years ago I opened a savings account for my kid."
"I religiously transfer a set amount + child benefit into it every single month."
"I also put some 'loose change' in there whenever I can."
"My kid knows of this account and gets to decide if any monetary gifts from family and friends are to be spent immediately or added to his growing savings."
"He doesn't keep tabs on the account, but has a rough idea of how much he 'gets' every month and how much he's got already."
"My son must've told my ex about the account, because my ex approached me about it."
"He asked to see the account- I refused."
"He asked to at least know the exact amount (he has a rough idea)- I refused, I don't see the point. He asked to contribute and become a 'co-owner' (as in- the account is to be 'from mum and dad')."
"I asked if he'd like to make a big initial payment- he doesn't, as he doesn't have 'that kind of money to just throw into an account nobody can access for years' he just wants to join in now and throw in some cash here and there, but the amount that's already in there is to be overlooked."
"I refused."
"He told me that I can only afford that thanks to his child support contributions."
"I told him that the child support is his duty and is spent on our son's current needs, not for him to hold it over my head."
"He called me a jerk for not telling him about the account when I first opened it because now he's '8 years behind' and won't be able to match it and it will look bad when my kid grows up and only gets my support."
"I told him that it's up to him whether or not he invests in our child's future, he still has a long time to save something if he so wishes."
"He told me I was a jerk for purposefully making him look like a 'bad dad' for not having thought of something like this."
"I don't think it's fair of him to ask to jump in and claim to have contributed to the savings I've worked hard on for years, but now I wonder if I actually acted like an AH for creating a situation in which I look like the 'better' & 'more caring' parent?"
"Should I have told him about it when I first opened the account?"
"Should I just let him contribute to keep the peace?"
"The money is going to end up in my son's account anyway, no matter if he receives payments from 2 savings accounts or just one."
"It's an ISA nobody can withdraw money from until my child's 18th birthday (though I'm not sure he knows that), so I'm not too worried about any potential theft."
"It's more of a powerplay issue."
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
The Reddit community was in agreement that the OP was not the a**hole for refusing to share their son's savings account with her ex-husband.
Everyone agreed that the OP was only thinking of and providing for her son, something her ex-husband clearly had not been doing and merely wanted to take credit for her work:
"This isn't about you being financially responsible, and saving for your son's future."
"This is about your ex's ego, and control, and inventing this drama to lay (yet another?) guilt trip on you, while making it all about him and this 'lost opportunity to show his benevolence'."
"If he really wanted to save for your son's future, he had 8 years to do it."
"That's entirely on him."
"I can see why he is your ex."
"Your son is only 12."
'There is a whole lot of time for your ex to open his own savings account, contribute as he wants, then give that to your son when he comes of age."
"All by himself."
"Like an adult."
"Guess WTA is here."
"Not you."
"NTA."- 4th_chakra
"NTA."
"You've done nothing wrong, in fact I think his reaction to this realization that the account exists is all the proof you need to know it would have been bad for him to be involved from the beginning."
"If he can contribute to it, he can withdraw from it too, I believe."
"Minimally it would introduce questions around who really provided that AND it would give him some more say in how it is spent."
"Keep firm boundaries."
"He is in NO WAY disadvantaged here."
"He can start his own savings account for the kid, either large or small."
"It is absurdly unreasonable for him to expect you to 'share' it with him now."
"It's also a common but faulty critique for people who pay child support to act like everything the recipient can do financially is 'because' of that contribution."
"Pay no mind."- owls_and_cardinals
"NTA."
"Also some possible red flags in the fact that he doesn't just want to contribute to the savings but wants to be the co-owner and know how much money is in there."
"It comes to mind for me to make sure this money is protected for your child and cannot be accessed by anyone else."- Arc-en-ciel-x2
"NTA."
"Is he banned from banks or something?"
"If it's so important to him to contribute money, then why didn't he open an account years ago?"-hubertburnette
"NTA."
"There is no reason for him to be on that account."
"If he is adult enough to make a child, he is adult enough to know that he could have made an account for his child at anytime."
"He can do so now or he can give you money to put in the account for his child."- Worth-Season3645
"NTA."
"Dude wants to steal 'cachet' from you by acting like he contributed 1/2 of the account over the years when in reality he plans to put $20 in there once or twice a year for the next 10 years."
"That's why he wanted to know how much is in there and wants to be a 50% owner of the account."
"So he can brag about how awesome of a dad he is without actually having to do any work."- Oh-its-Tuesday
"NTA and do not put him on the account or give him any way to access the money there, that is just asking for it to be stolen."
"He cares so much about the kid, he can open a separate account and put any money for him there."- FantasticCabinet2623
"NTA."
"He could've opened an account for your son at any time, you weren't stopping him."
"He can open a separate one right now if he wants."- DaisyBryar
"NTA."
"'He told me I was a jerk for purposefully making him look like a "bad dad" for not having thought of something like this'."
"A) your ex had nothing to do with this account so it's impossible for this to be true."
"B) Your ex just showed you that his child is not a priority in his life because he's 'not thinking about something like this' 100% on your ex."
"C) your ex is just pissed because you are being a better parent to your child than he is."
"Don't give your ex access, let him contribute his own money into his own account."
"If he comes back with 'you did this to make me look bad' you can tell him 'your own actions make you look bad, not me and quit projecting'."- slap-a-frap
One hopes that the OP's ex-husband wanted to become co-owner of the savings account simply to help his child. However, it seems that he wanted credit more than anything else.
Credit for work that his ex-wife entirely did by herself.
Even so, it's not too late for the OP's ex-husband to get the ball rolling and start saving for his son's future.
And this way, when his son thanks him for all he's done, he'll know it was work he genuinely accomplished, not merely taking credit for the work of others.
Woman Asks If It's Wrong To Hold Grudge After Mom Told Her When She 8 Years Old That She Wished She'd Aborted Her
While some people view having and raising children as the greatest blessing, some parents hold their children's existence against them for their entire lives.
And when they feel that way about their children, they're unfortunately typically pretty honest about it, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor heavelymango knew from the time she was young that her mother did not really like her and significantly favored her sister.
But when her mother told her at the age of eight that she wished she had aborted her, the Original Poster (OP) held on to that grudge for years after the fact.
She asked the sub:
The OP had a grudge against her mother.
"I (22 Female) have been holding onto a grudge due to something my mom told me when I was roughly eight or nine years old."
"Growing up, I was a rebellious kid and always felt as if my mom favored my older sister. My sister would always get whatever she wanted."
"I know she was born with Down syndrome and always needed more attention and care, but if my sister wanted my tablet, for example, she would have it for the whole day while mine was limited to 30 minutes so she could have it."
"As a kid, I lashed out more because of this. She could take all of my things, but I could never use hers."
During a heated moment, the OP's mother said something unforgivable.
"Eventually, this led to an argument with my mom. I don't recall the whole thing, but it was related to my sister and how I felt my mom didn't care about me or give me the same amount of attention."
"The fight got heated, and I probably told my mom that I hated my sister and her."
"I remember she said back, 'I never wanted you from the start. I knew I should've aborted you when I had the chance.'"
" I didn't know what aborted meant at the time, and I remember I looked it up, and it made me cry. I never forgot it, and it lingers in my mind whenever I am home."
The OP's mother pressured her to "let it go" and move on.
"Even growing up, I still brought it up, and she would get mad, saying I need to let it go and how I'm stubborn for not just forgetting what she said."
"There was even a time in high school when she took me to a therapist, and she complained about how I never dropped what she said."
"She says I need to move on from it because it has affected my relationship with her, and she wants to fix it."
"I know I'm older now and it was so long ago, but it still hurts, and I feel like it's made me not want to have her in my life in the future, and I have told this to her."
"How I don't want her in my life once I move out, get married, or have my own kids."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that this sounded like a core memory more than a grudge.
"The axe forgets. The tree remembers."
"It sounds less like you're holding a grudge and more that this is a formative, core memory for you."
"It won't stop being a core memory (unless maybe with the help of a lot of therapy). Has your mom ever apologized for saying that? Because you don't have to forget to forgive, but if she's not remorseful for saying that terrible thing to her young child (not just remorseful that you remember it), then she probably needs therapy (or is a narcissist/sociopath/similar)."
"You are certainly not obligated to 'get over it.'" - Hot-Can3615
"This is not a 'grudge'; it is pain that is still felt to such a degree. If she said it, then she was thinking it. She'll probably never apologize, but that doesn't mean your pain is or was invalid." - Fast_Register_9480
"NOR. This kind of thing needs a real apology. Like she needs to acknowledge the damage and genuinely care about it. Brushing it off won’t make it go away." - TentacleWolverine
"NOR. Did she really want to fix things? She basically just told you to get over it from the start instead of giving you a sincere apology."
"That isn't working on anything. She wants you to get over it so she can pretend that she never said it, so she doesn't have to feel bad about what she did. It doesn't sound like she cares much about how you feel."
"She just doesn't want to deal with it. For that reason, I would still have issues with what she said." - Chemical-Ad6809
"If your relationship with your mother is being affected by the actions of your mother, your mother is responsible for fixing it."
"You should know you probably aren't ever going to get closure, but you don't have to swallow it down. It helps to be the person you needed when you were younger out loud to yourself, but especially to others."
"For example: My name is Liz, and my mom told me to go ahead and do it already and save us all the heartache when I finally had the courage to tell her about how much I've been struggling with self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm never going to forgive her for that, and we have never been close as a result of her actions."
"You aren't holding onto a grudge; you have a core memory of your mother distilling her feelings into a world-shattering sentence."
"You did not have a secure attachment before and can't have one now because of the deep trauma. You do not apologize for being stabbed."
"Find another therapist. I mean it. Someone who cares about your well-being wouldn't force you to apologize for being verbally abused as a child. I'm 29 now, and I lived through it. I still struggle with suicidal ideation daily, but once I stopped relying on my mom and unstable sources for support, my life got better immediately."
"You want things for comfort and familiarity. Don't let your mom or your therapist gaslight you into crossing a boundary."
"It might help to ask for a written five-part apology from your mom. 1. Acknowledge what you did 2. Say why it was wrong 3. Promise not to do it again 4. Ask how to make amends. 5. Share your feelings at this time if there's anything you'd like to say."
"My mom can be a good person and a bad mom and role model. Being in your own company is so much better than poor company." - PotLuckyPodcast
Others hoped the OP would go no contact with her mother sooner rather than later.
"NOR. It’s emotional abuse. And you do not owe her closeness after that, especially as she refuses to be accountable for that and try to make it up to you."
"She knows you have her number, and she can’t forgive you for knowing what a colloidal b***h she is."
"It’s unlikely that will change; it will at least be turned back on you with her the victim."
"Stop expecting her to apologize. If she doesn’t pay your bills, ghost her." - SnooCheesecakes2723
"My mom said something similar. My brother and I were adopted, and when I was a teen, in front of a church lady, she said, 'We didn't even really want you, but the people didn't want to split y'all up, so we just took you, too.'"
"Me and the church lady were shook. When I say my falbbers were ghasted. Like huh? She didn't remember saying that when I brought it up years after the fact."
"I also got grounded two times for two separate nine weeks (for C's on my report card) and a three and a half to four months (for smoking at 16 and getting caught because she liked to just pop up out of nowhere), and we just had a talk about that, and she didn't even remember."
"She said, 'No, I didn't. I never grounded you for that long,' and when I gave my rebuttal, she said, 'Well, if I did, it definitely wasn't for no nine weeks or months,' and this started because she was praising me for reading so much and liking books. I said, 'Well, when you were grounded like me, that's all I could do (no TV, no friends outside of school, no music, nothing but my room and books)."
"There's a reason I only call or answer her calls once or twice every few weeks. And I only call to get food, really..." - ManicalMoe
"‘Fine, I'm sorry’ is not an apology."
"Whilst I’m sure it was said in anger, most things said in anger have a grain of truth. There are also some things that no half-decent parent ever says to their children, no matter how angry they are, and this is one of them! It also sounds like she has made repeated similar comments of not wanting you as her child."
"I understand her eldest had a disability, but this is no excuse for neglecting and emotionally abusing her younger child. Lots of families deal with a child with additional needs whilst still managing to prioritise their other kids. Children with Down syndrome are capable of understanding ‘that’s your sister's, not yours; give it back’ !! It sounds like your mum has mental health issues?"
"Do you have a present father or other family you can turn to?"
"Protect your peace. Your mum has hurt you time and time again, honestly, for no real gain other than momentarily satisfying her anger. You owe this woman nothing." - Background_Term9810
"I went through something similar. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make comments that implied she didn't want me, though it was never that explicit. 'I only had you because your brother wanted a sister,' and 'My figure never recovered after you; after your brother, it did.'"
"Each comment stayed with me, but I never addressed it with her. I tried to move on and leave it in the past. She did a lot of horrible things throughout my life, but her behavior was always ignored because that's the precedent my dad set, where she can do essentially whatever she wants."
"A few months ago, she came to see me because I was desperate for help and sick. Instead of helping, she made my life so much worse. I won't go into details. At one point, I could no longer keep it inside, and I told her that she is a narcissist, to which she responded with, 'It would have been better if I had never had you.'"
"In some ways, it felt really good to hear her come out and say it. It felt good to hear the truth I've always known."
"I don't know what you should do, but I've chosen to not forgive."
"Every time I forgave, I just let her know that she can get away with whatever horrible things she had done. Her apologies were never real apologies. She always found ways to blame me or others for whatever she had done."
"And I'm truly just done with it. As sad as it is to not have a mom, it's sadder to pretend that you have one when in reality you don't... quite the opposite, if anything." - Neos_Mom
"So, OP, what will hurt more: keeping her and the grudge in your life or making a break and going low or no contact with her?"
"Frankly, we've no idea of what she might have been dealing with at the time, but regardless, what she said was said only to cause pain and suffering. 'Sorry' doesn't magic that intent away."
"Me, I think spending time alone or with friends or in therapy away from her might be what you need here. You might come to some sort of acceptance, but if this is something that's just going to keep coming between you, then stop trying to have that relationship." - Tal_Tos_72
After the OP received feedback, she shared a few clarifications from her original post.
"I wanted to clear some things up, take accountability where it's due, and provide some much-needed context from many people commenting the same questions."
"I want to be completely honest. We had many arguments, and I was a rebellious kid. I acted out and argued with my mom."
"I don't want to give off the impression that I was an entirely innocent kid who never did anything wrong and my mom just snapped out of nowhere. We both said hateful and hurtful things to each other during our fights."
"Growing up, the only way she would accept an apology was if I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. If I ever asked her to apologize to me, she would say, 'I have nothing to apologize for; you should be the one begging for my forgiveness.'"
The OP had a lot of physical memories, too.
"Things also would turn into physical arguments, not just verbal ones."
"There were times when she would get so angry she would get physical. Like yanking me by my hair, twisting my arms, or throwing things at me (like remotes, a bug spray can, or a radio)."
"When she yanked my hair, I would fight back just to get her to let me go, and she would scream that I was trying to kill her and she would get me arrested. When she twisted my arm, and I begged her to stop because it felt like it was going to break, she would say she hoped it did."
"When she threw objects at me, she would say she wished they would hit my face."
"I remember in middle school, during an argument, she said she wished she could break my face and that she hated it because I look like my dad. I won’t lie, whenever she said things like that, I would say nasty comments about how she chose to have him put us in her."
While the OP wasn't financially ready to move out yet, she hoped to as soon as possible.
"Why haven't I moved out yet? The main reason I haven't been able to move out is financial."
"I wasn't making enough to support myself without worrying about whether I’d end up having to crawl back home."
"Thankfully, I have recently found a better-paying job. My plan is to move out between mid-to-late October, or early November at the latest."
"The only reason I can't leave this exact second is because I have a few legal/administrative things to get cleared up so I’m completely untied from my mom, which will take a few weeks."
The OP also had proof that her mother liked her sister better.
"Has my mom ever admitted to favoring my sister? Yes."
"In arguments, she has explicitly told me that she doesn't see me as her legitimate daughter, and that she adored my sister more and forever will. She has also called me a 'monster,' told me there is a certain type of evil inside of me, and said she was afraid I would be just like my dad and try to harm them."
"She would even tell me that she was telling family and friends these things about me, but then later claim she 'just said it in the moment' and wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell people that."
"Because I was so confused growing up and didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth, I started avoiding our family when they came over."
"Naturally, that just made things worse because she would get mad at me for avoiding them (even now as an adult), completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who lied about what she told them."
Unfortunately, the OP didn't have support from her father.
"What about my dad? My dad is not in my life."
"He was around sporadically, but never as a stable parent. My parents separated before I was born and divorced when I was two or three."
"Growing up, it was just constant back-and-forth toxicity, with him telling me how toxic my mother was, and her telling me the same about him."
"He would mostly only come over to see my sister, and often used me to care for her if he wanted to take her out to eat. Ultimately, my dad didn't care about anyone else other than my sister (and his drugs)."
"I hope this can clear some questions on the original post. I know I didn't provide many details as I originally should have. I honestly didn't want to post something too long, and I honestly did not expect it to be noticed."
"Thank you all for taking time to talk to me and share your thoughts."
The subReddit fully sided with the OP, pointing out that no matter how heated the moment was, it would never excuse the terrible things the OP's mother had said to her.
If the OP's mother really wanted a relationship with her, she'd drop the defensiveness and demands, offer a genuine apology, and work hard to be better for both of her children.
That takes a very rare kind of person to pull off, and it didn't sound like the OP's mother had that in her.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp