Navigating parenthood is challenging.
Everyone has their own guidelines, traditions, and rules – but there’s no perfect way to raise children.
Many people on Reddit had strong opinions about a woman’s choice to stop cuddling with her daughter. Keep reading to find out why!
The Mother Explains Her Side
A 37-year-old woman took to Reddit’s ‘Am I The A*****e’ thread to share a recent situation involving her young daughter.
“My daughter is very small for her age, and as a result, she sometimes gets treated like a younger child,” the woman began in her post.
“She loves to hop in my or my husband’s lap and cuddle with us on the couch or in a chair,” she continued. However, the mother started to worry that her daughter was getting “too old” for that kind of cuddling and wondered if she was hurting her by letting her continue.
The day before she wrote her post, her 11-year-old daughter tried to climb onto her lap to cuddle. “I told her she was too old for that and to get off me,” the woman said. “She got really upset, got off me, and went to her room, slamming the door.”
Now, the young girl wasn’t trying to cuddle with her mother anymore, and there was tension at home. “She doesn’t talk to me unless she has to, and when I hugged her goodnight last night, she didn’t hug me back,” the woman explained.
“I feel really guilty because I obviously hurt her feelings, but I feel like she might be too old for sitting on my lap,” she added, asking fellow Redditors if she was the a*****e in the situation.
What Did the Internet Say?
Unfortunately, the woman was deemed “the a*****e” in the situation, with many people criticizing her for missing out on valuable bonding time with her daughter. Her story was not received well at all!
“She’s not going to want to cuddle you much longer. You may have a year left. And you’re throwing that time away instead of cherishing it,” one person said.
Another added, “There’s nothing wrong with directing a child towards more age-appropriate behaviors or expressing that something is no longer comfortable for you. That’s part of helping a child grow up.
But you do need to redirect them to a behavior that is appropriate (because they need to be taught, they don’t automatically know) and reinforce that while your relationship with them is changing, your love for them is consistent.”
“If you told her to ‘Get off’ with no warning, it’s no wonder she perceived that as rejection and is now completely confused as to what sort of physical affection is okay or will get her snapped at,” they continued.
A further comment read, “I work at a nursing home. We have a 78-year-old man who comes to visit his 99-year-old mother every week. She has dementia and they hold each other, and they both light up. You never outgrow the need for love and affection from your parents.”
What Do You Think?
What do you think of the story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
