We popped onto the AITA subreddit on Friday to see what kind of baby name drama was afoot or whose in-laws were acting up, but instead, we found a post that we sincerely hoped we misunderstood. Spoiler alert: We did not. A woman posted on the thread to share a story about her 7-year-old daughter Layla, who got a “boyfriend” named Lucas a few months ago.
“They are both 7, so it’s obviously not a real relationship,” she wrote, garnering a “duh!” from the audience.
“They just hold hands sometimes and they drew each other hearts for Valentine’s Day.” Ok. So that could be romantic. Or! Just hear me out! They could be friends.
“This week, Layla was apparently holding hands with another boy — who also sent Layla a Valentine’s Day love letter — and Lucas took offense to it.”
Pause: Isn’t everyone supposed to give everyone in the class a Valentine at that age? Regardless…
The playdate (or “date” *eye roll*) that Lucas and Layla had planned for Saturday is now cancelled because, according to Lucas’ parents, the boy is mad at Layla. When Layla’s dad heard the news, he decided he wants Layla punished and for his wife (OP) to have a talk with their daughter about … wait for it … “faithfulness.”
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“At first I thought he was joking, but no, he was serious,” she wrote. “He says that Layla cheated on Lucas and I, as her mother, should do something about it. I told my husband that Layla is 7, not a cheater and I won’t treat her as such. He then accused me of ‘raising a cheater’ and encouraging the bad behavior.”
Wow. Where do we even begin? Well, maybe we go back to the beginning and reiterate a very important detail: These kids are seven. They are first graders. And so the mass of nearly 3 thousand commenters unanimously agreed that this mom is absoulutely not the a—hole, and that it’s ridiculous to call a kid a cheater.
Why is this father treating this like a legitimate romantic relationship?
“Ask your husband next time he is sick if he wants Layla to prescribe some medication or if Layla should make him some food in her play kitchen the next time he’s hungry. They are role playing!” one commenter perfectly said.
Many people said this is a great learning opportunity. Not for Layla to learn about unfaithfulness — because that would set “a super gross precedent and add a much more adult role than should be put into this situation” — but to learn about friendships and jealousy. And for this dad to hopefully learn how outrageously off base he is.
Because is anyone else getting full-on icky vibes?
“This strikes me as a man who will shame her in the future for how she dresses, telling her she’s inviting any harassment she gets etc,” one user said.
As commenters speculated over whether this man was a cheater and was projecting, one Redditor stepped in and cleared things up. What we have to understand, they said, is that this husband “still lives in the Middle Ages.”
“Kids are betrothed to one another at birth and have to stay faithful until their dying days,” they explained. “Otherwise Prince Lucas may not marry the adultress and she will die alone as an old maid.”
A terrible fate, indeed!
Now before we get into what this mom should do, it’s time for our mid-post reminder: *Clears throat* These kids are SEVEN!
Moving on.
Like it or not, there will have to some kind of acknowledgement of the ghastly betrayal. After all, Layla will wonder why Lucas isn’t coming over. The majority of users said this could become a casual discussion about jealousy, feeling left out, and why Lucas might have been upset. Layla should be taught that she can have multiple friends, that friends care about each other and want to be included, and that she did not do anything wrong.
“Layla should not be getting the message (as a 7-year-old girl) that it’s her job to make the men around her comfortable and happy,” one person rightfully pointed out.
Others think an extended conversation is inappropriate and feeds into this idea that this was a legitimate relationship and Layla was doing something wrong.
“Lecturing implies a greater understanding of interpersonal relationships and her own feelings than any 7-year-old can be expected to have,” one Redditor said. “At that age, children are still learning about their own feelings, and what they mean.”
“They are literally play acting and imitating what they’ve seen,” pointed out another. “If she were playing with a baby doll, would your husband want to punish her for dropping it or neglecting it?”
Fair point, internet, fair point.
And then, the masses want to know, what is happening at Lucas’s house?
“Is the other parent going to have a conversation about clearly communicating their expectations around exclusivity?” someone asked. “Oh, they’re not, because he’s 7.”
If anything good came from this post, it’s that it made a lot of Redditors come to the realization that perhaps their parents should have pointed out that they were “dirty rotten cheats.” One woman realized she got married without properly divorcing her first husband who she married in third grade during recess. How shameful! And this must mean every relationship she had since that fateful day was a salacious scandal.
“What a monster I am,” she wrote in defeat.
This “monster” got so many responses that she edited her post to include some more details of her debauchery. Her current husband does know of the other man. In fact, she fessed up a few years ago.
“I’ve never been able to find third grade husband on social media so I have no idea what happened to him,” she wrote. “I wonder if he ever became a Ghostbuster like he dreamed he would (and offered me the position of secretary).”
Before you go, check out these unbelievable stories about Reddit’s worst dads.
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