A father has sparked heated debate online after admitting his “disdain” for children has extended to members of his own family, with dozens of people urging him to “seek therapy”.
The father-of-two, from the US, revealed he “doesn’t really like” babies, toddlers and children under five, noting his own offspring are “an exception to the rule”.
On Reddit on December 9, the man, known anonymously as u/Ill_Shelter5785, went into detail about his situation on the subreddit, ‘AITA’, in a mail which has since been removed.
In it, he shared that his wife began challenging his dislike of children following his recent decision to stay away from his nieces and nephews, leading to heated arguments between the couple.
He explained: ‘I don’t want to be around, hug or watch my nieces and nephews. I will point out that I have two children of my own.
The father noted that even though his own little ones were “a lot” of joy and happiness to his life, he remembers having “disdain” and “strong negative feelings” toward younger children since he was four years old.
He added: “I don’t find anything attractive about them and if I could go my whole life without being in the same room as a little boy, I would live a very happy life.”
The man shared that although his wife of twenty years was aware of his dislike of children, she has since objected to his behavior after the birth of nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.
A dad has sparked heated debate online after admitting his “disdain” for children has extended to members of his own family, as dozens of people urge him to “seek therapy”. Stock image used
He added: “She is constantly trying to force me to hug her children, volunteer to take care of them and tries to force me to be around them.”
‘I can’t put into words how frustrating this is for me. But lately it’s started to embarrass me for not associating with them. We have had multiple discussions around this topic.’
The dad concluded by asking his fellow Redditors if he’s a “bad person” for choosing to avoid spending time with his nieces and nephews.
The post has since sparked mixed reactions from more than a thousand users, with most denouncing the man’s “strange” behavior.
One person asked: ‘How the hell do you hate a newborn?’ while another commented: ‘Does it confuse me that you have two children? What did you do with them when they were between 0 and 5 years old?
‘I don’t even know what judgment to give, probably YTA because this feels so strange. I don’t have children and I don’t like children of all ages, and I’m really struggling to understand this.’
A third added: ‘It’s one thing to prefer not to be around children, but I also think it’s crazy to refuse to be in your nephew/niece’s life and think you can recover once they are of an age where you can stand them.
‘As a parent, I would remember those 4 years when they didn’t like them and wouldn’t let you be a part of their lives, period. So I guess I have to say YTA.’
Another commented: ‘YTA. Go to therapy. Children are people and you are their family.
‘If you scare them before they turn 4, they won’t forget it. You’re a guy, you don’t have to hug kids, but you should at least give a damn what happens to them.’
However, several Redditors appeared to side with the father, with one writing: ‘NTA. The fact is, the only people who care about whether you spend time with babies and toddlers are adults. Babies and toddlers don’t know any different.
‘I’m just like you OP. I don’t like babies or small children. Children become more interesting to me when they are older and I can involve them.
‘My friends and family know not to expect me to hold their newborns or look after their children. I don’t go out of my way to avoid them, but I don’t go out of my way to look for them either.’
Another agreed, adding: ‘This would be me. It’s more the fact that I don’t want to be the reason something went wrong with someone else’s child, so I just refuse to be in that situation.
“You can’t drop someone’s baby, or transfer a disease, if you don’t take it to begin with lol.”
It comes after a man revealed he walked out on a date after the woman he was dating revealed she had a son and wanted him to help her raise her child.
The anonymous Redditor posted on the forum’s Am I The A**hole (AITA) subreddit asking people to weigh in on whether or not he was wrong with his actions.
The Reddit post was titled: ‘AITA for leaving someone in a (restaurant) because he lied to me about having a child (he expected me to take care of them and pay for them). After 3 weeks of dating.’
Countless Redditers flooded the comments section and the vast majority agreed that the OP was not The A**hole, or NTA for short.