Girl Confesses She’s Scared Of Mom’s Fiancé, Mom Gets Rid Of Him Immediately
Sometimes, in order to be a good parent, you have to make tough decisions. For example, kicking out a person you spent the last several years with just because they’re not good for your kid. Just as this woman did — she kicked out her fiancé after he decided to physically punish her daughter even though they agreed to never do that, as the woman grew up physically disciplined, and it messed her up. Well, maybe her love life isn’t thriving, but at least she’s a thoughtful parent, right?
More info: Reddit
What would you do if your partner completely dismissed your input on how to discipline your kid?
Image credits: Omar Lopez (not the actual photo)
When the author’s daughter misbehaved, she decided to take away her iPad for a while as a punishment, which caused the girl to storm out
Later, when the woman heard her daughter screaming in pain, she found her fiance standing in her room with a belt in his hands
Image credits: Julia M Cameron (not the actual photo)
The woman was angry, as she had told him never to physically punish the girl, so doing that disrespected her
Image credits: Monstera Production (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Amazing_Bug2565
When the daughter opened up about being afraid of her mom’s fiancé, the woman kicked him out without any hesitation
The post’s author has a 10-year-old daughter whose father passed away when she was 3. When the girl was 8, the OP moved in with her fiancé (now her ex, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves), and they used to get along very well.
Of course, when the moving-in was happening, the woman set ground rules about discipline for her daughter, and one of the most important rules was no physical punishment. It came from the fact that the OP grew up with a parent who used physical discipline, which made her fearful of them, and she didn’t want her child to endure that.
Now, the situation in which the woman’s fiancé became her ex started when the daughter snuck out her iPad to use during class. When the OP learned about it, she banned the girl from using the tablet for a little while. This caused the girl to run upstairs, slam the door, and scream.
But it didn’t end there. A bit later, the woman heard her daughter screaming differently than before. This time, it sounded more like she was in pain. So, the OP ran upstairs and saw her fiancé with a belt in his hand and the daughter crying in the corner.
It’s no surprise that the woman wondered why he decided to beat her after they agreed that it wasn’t a proper way of disciplining. Well, according to him, the girl was disrespectful by slamming the doors and screaming, so he took matters into his own hands, as non-physical discipline didn’t work.
This angered the woman, who believed that a 10-year-old is allowed to have emotions and not have them beaten out of her. And when the girl revealed that she was afraid of the mom’s fiancé, the woman ended the relationship without any hesitation.
Sadly, the man and the OP’s parents didn’t see this as a proper reason to end their relationship and called her overdramatic. The only person (besides, likely, her daughter) who agreed with the action was the woman’s sister, who also experienced physical discipline from their parents growing up and knew how bad it can be.
Well, after the woman posted the story to the subreddit, she quickly gathered more people who supported the way she handled the situation. People in the comments praised her for standing up to her principles and looking out for her daughter, even if that meant letting go of her fiancé. And it’s not only the principles thing but also the fact that a kid shouldn’t be disciplined physically, just as some folks pointed out, which is proven by scientists.
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
And they’re not wrong for saying that. Many studies have proven that any type of physical punishment can increase a child’s aggression, antisocial behavior, and other mental health problems, and it can also cause physical injury. While, yes, it might stop the child from misbehaving at that very moment — in the long term, it will only feed the mentioned problems.
Besides, physical discipline is viewed as a violation of children’s human rights or, more specifically, their right to protection from all forms of violence while in the care of their caregivers.
There are many other ways to discipline a child that do not require taking physical measures:
- Giving them a time out to cool down from a tantrum;
- Taking away certain privileges for a period of time (which was the woman from the story’s original discipline plan);
- Teaching them to control their emotions;
- Praising good behavior.
Of course, these are just a few options. There are many more of them out there. And not only do these options not include any physical punishment, but they are even proven to be more effective, as their results have more longevity and cause less harm to a child’s behavior.
This further proves how right the mom from the story was to not tolerate her daughter being punished in a harmful and ineffective way. What’s sad about it was that, due to the incident, she had to lose a person she was committed to spending her life with. Or, on the other hand, maybe she dodged a bullet just in time.
Internet folks fully supported the woman’s decision, praising her for having properly working mom instincts
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
The fact that he suddenly called it 'his house' is a sure indicator that it's just a matter of time before the belt moves from the daughter to all kids and the mom.
Currently the poll says 2% think it was an overreaction to leave him. He didn’t give her a slap on the hand. He was using a belt to hurt her. And the “my house” comment is a major red flag. He’s been pretending to be a nice guy but this is who he really is.
Load More Replies...Seriously, I don't have children, I don't even like being around them, but I'd have gauged that fûckers eyes out and physically kicked him out
He didn't spank her, he beat her with a belt. Good mom for standing up for her kid. I doubt I would have handled it that well. Cops would be involved.
Where I live all physical violence toward children is HEAVILY illegal, so that’s a big yes to the cops. But that would be true for what’s strangely called ”spanking” as well. Illegal. Across the board.
Load More Replies...An adult striking a child with a weapon... He deserves to be in prison for a very long time.
I wish I could see an article just like this from the 60s. My mom his is with a rubber jump rope, a fly seater, a hairbrush, a wooden spoon, and whatever was handy at the moment. My dad his is with his belt or his hands. It was normal then. I remember telling this same stuff in busy a forum in the early 90s and was dumbstruck when I had HUNDREDS of responses saying “So sorry you were beaten and abused! The police shoulda intervened.” I was baffled at first, but after reading enough of the messages, it finally sank in. We often didn’t know why we’re being hit, aside from “Mom/Dad is angry.” If we had that article from the 60s, I don’t think most of you here would believe it (“It’s obviously troll bait; no one would hit their kids that many times with that many objects! This is clearly fake, and you have a wild imagination, OP! No one believes you! Parents PROTECT their kids; they don’t ASSAULT ‘em!). 😞
Load More Replies...I would have ripped the belt out of his hands and given him a taste of his own medicine. Except that a*****e would get it buckle first.
Yeah, bare hand might maybe be forgivable in the -very- long term, but the belt is a mistake. Big mistake. I'd be chasing him/her out the street with it (a bit over 1 km if they go left, more than 3 km when making the mistake of going right)
Load More Replies...As a kid, I was beaten for every infraction, no matter how minor. I got to the point that I was nonreactive to all blows, no matter how painful. It was my only control. When my firstborn was about two, she did something minor, and I swatted her on the behind with my hand a couple of times. She crawled up on the couch and sat screaming with tears, making direct eye contact with me. She didn't put two and two together to realize she was being punished for doing something wrong. She looked up at me with angry eyes of betrayal. She trusted me, and I violated her. The lesson that day was for me. I never laid hands on my kids ever again. I used my words, and they turned out great.
You describe exactly how children react to physical punishment. With surprise and fear and a feeling of betrayal. I was so glad to see, that you realised it and stopped it.
Load More Replies...Why did the photos used for examples all have people with darker skin? This may have been a coincidence, but feels somewhat inadvertently racist.
Wow, I did not notice that. I went back up and looked, and you're right. ALL of the photos are like that. That's messed up.
Load More Replies...I doubt they would do anything. Discipline is up to the parents and often has to cross some pretty significant lines (much worse than this) for anything to happen.
Load More Replies...I was punished regularly with slaps, belts, and switches (sticks) - and aside from blurred vision and crippling emotional problems I turned out just fine.
I laughed but sardonically; I went through the same, and ended up the same as you. (I still remember being at a friend’s home. She had ELEVEN siblings, and I heard the way they spoke to their mom: “Get off my a*s!” “Leave me alone!” “F**k off!”). I decided I was gonna do this, too, so later that night while talking to my mom at the dinner table, I mustered all my courage and managed to squeak out a weak “Shut up.” I never saw the shot that knocked me off my chair to the floor. I never tried THAT again.)
Load More Replies...The kid was not the only one testing boundries. You set a clear boundry, and it wasn't unreasonable. It was the absolute minimum standard of being a step-parent: No beating the child. Then, without discussion, he decided than slamming doors in a tantrum deserved not just additional punishment, but being beaten with a belt. He's under stress with being unemployed, he thinks that he has the woman locked in, and the kid is being difficult. This is his character being revealed: being stressed and frustrated will cause him to overreact, get angry, and become agressive and violent. This woman did not over-react, he showed who he was, and she paid attention.
If you voted that this was an overreaction you're completely brain damaged! Or you were beaten as a kid and think it's OK. So yeah, brain damaged.
All I can say is, you NEVER take a belt to a child that age. I had that happen as a boy. My uncle did this regularly for the smallest of mistakes. Soooooo, when I joined the service, and after some "special" training, I visited him. I was in full dress uniform when I laid him out and kicked the ever loving s**t out of him. Then I told him why. Cathartic for me.
If parents DO decide to spank their kids (not recommended by child psychologists), researchers say that it MUST be with the hand, not an instrument (like a belt) and should never be done in the heat of anger. That wasn't discipline: that was abuse.
I spanked my daughter exactly once, when she took off sprinting through a parking lot. My thought was getting crushed by a car was worse than that. And she always held my hand in the parking lot after that. I'm not pro-spanking by any means because it does leave a permanent impression. I can remember my dad kicking my sister on the ground because she was "sassy". I agree there's a difference between discipline and abuse.
Load More Replies...I don’t have children, but if I did & anyone dared to raise a hand toward them? Then so help me god, I would break both their hands! I AM an auntie, though & I always make sure my nieces & nephews are safe. I protected my eldest niece (now 26) & her little brother when I was 14 & their dad got into a drunken state & got aggressive with my sister, as I locked the 3 of us in the upstairs bathroom & reassured that I wouldn’t let any harm come to them … they were 4 & 1 years old at the time. I’ll never condone acts of violence towards any vulnerable person & will always speak up for them, regardless of my own vulnerabilities. 😐🙅♀️
I would have done the same. And hopefully now the daughter knows that even when she's done something wrong, her Mum will protect her and be there for her. With luck this will make their relationship stronger. My parents always said to me "you can tell us anything, we may hit the roof (they were never physically violent) but we will still come down again and help you. No matter what".
I sure as h*ll hope she doesn't leave daughter alone with g-parents! They obviously don't believe in controlling their tempers. To wail on a child so much that they constantly fear your your actions, is unforgivable. Go on with your great ways, Mom!
I don't think a step parent should be disciplining their step children. I grew up with one who was allowed to use the belt. From the time I was 8 till I threatened him with a bat at 17 if he touched my younger brother for waking him up from a nap. I've never been that mad before or since, and I was seriously going to put him in the hospital.
I would be pressing charges. That is not "spanking", it is violent sexual assault. The buttocks have nerve connections to the genitals. [ .................. ] Ain't it funny how those who call it "discipline" only approve of it when the targets are the helpless and the weak? If a boss "spanked" an employee for misconduct, it would be called assault. So why not when adults use that violence against children?
Physical assault maybe, but you're really reaching to go for sexual assault which I've never heard anyone call a spanking in my life.
Load More Replies...I've spent over 30 years working with troubled kids and families. If you saw what I see; heard the stories I hear and witnessed the incidents I've witnessed, you would reject physical discipline for good. Regardless of what you may or may not believe about disciplining a child, the salient issue here is one of "my child, my rules." The mother chooses to discipline in a fashion that appears to work for her child. The BF comes along and, believing in a different form of discipline, disrespects the mother by using a method she rejects. He would be history in my home so fast his head would spin.
My late father used to take the belt to me and a bamboo cane. Guess who's funeral I didn't attend?? This mamma did good. I wonder if the child was playing up more because of his so called discipline being more than realised. My father was so strict I never went to school trips, discos or nightclubs, or out drinking and became an isolated young adult onwards. Never stayed at a friends house and was never allowed boyfriends to stay or visit. Discipline isn't discipline when it crosses into abuse and control and the child remains traumatised for life. What he said went from birth to escape. So glad this woman kicked his a**e out. Depending on the countries laws he could be done for that.
That is a good mom with the right instincts. Maybe she should thank her parents for doing a horrible job, it showed her what not to do and when her fiance needed to become her ex.
Domestic violence in any circumstance is wrong so why is "disciplining" children with fear and violence still acceptable to some?
The creeps who voted “It was an overreaction” beat their kids and perhaps even their spouses and should be ashamed of themselves. My folks taught me to hide things from them and to be afraid of them by beating us.
OP did the right thing. I’m just a child myself and my father uses physical displinary tactics on me all the time. I’ve taken to hiding the items that hurt the most when I think he’s going o be angry. Bevause once he hit me with a metal ladle and that sort of triggered a PTSD of metal.
I've had the belt and schambok... and a wooden spoon. I got better at not getting caught. I also feared them instead.
When it comes to discipline and children, there's a saying I heard once that I fully agree with: You instill fear, you EARN respect. Spanking and BEATING, which this was, instills fear.
The fact that he suddenly called it 'his house' is a sure indicator that it's just a matter of time before the belt moves from the daughter to all kids and the mom.
Currently the poll says 2% think it was an overreaction to leave him. He didn’t give her a slap on the hand. He was using a belt to hurt her. And the “my house” comment is a major red flag. He’s been pretending to be a nice guy but this is who he really is.
Load More Replies...Seriously, I don't have children, I don't even like being around them, but I'd have gauged that fûckers eyes out and physically kicked him out
He didn't spank her, he beat her with a belt. Good mom for standing up for her kid. I doubt I would have handled it that well. Cops would be involved.
Where I live all physical violence toward children is HEAVILY illegal, so that’s a big yes to the cops. But that would be true for what’s strangely called ”spanking” as well. Illegal. Across the board.
Load More Replies...An adult striking a child with a weapon... He deserves to be in prison for a very long time.
I wish I could see an article just like this from the 60s. My mom his is with a rubber jump rope, a fly seater, a hairbrush, a wooden spoon, and whatever was handy at the moment. My dad his is with his belt or his hands. It was normal then. I remember telling this same stuff in busy a forum in the early 90s and was dumbstruck when I had HUNDREDS of responses saying “So sorry you were beaten and abused! The police shoulda intervened.” I was baffled at first, but after reading enough of the messages, it finally sank in. We often didn’t know why we’re being hit, aside from “Mom/Dad is angry.” If we had that article from the 60s, I don’t think most of you here would believe it (“It’s obviously troll bait; no one would hit their kids that many times with that many objects! This is clearly fake, and you have a wild imagination, OP! No one believes you! Parents PROTECT their kids; they don’t ASSAULT ‘em!). 😞
Load More Replies...I would have ripped the belt out of his hands and given him a taste of his own medicine. Except that a*****e would get it buckle first.
Yeah, bare hand might maybe be forgivable in the -very- long term, but the belt is a mistake. Big mistake. I'd be chasing him/her out the street with it (a bit over 1 km if they go left, more than 3 km when making the mistake of going right)
Load More Replies...As a kid, I was beaten for every infraction, no matter how minor. I got to the point that I was nonreactive to all blows, no matter how painful. It was my only control. When my firstborn was about two, she did something minor, and I swatted her on the behind with my hand a couple of times. She crawled up on the couch and sat screaming with tears, making direct eye contact with me. She didn't put two and two together to realize she was being punished for doing something wrong. She looked up at me with angry eyes of betrayal. She trusted me, and I violated her. The lesson that day was for me. I never laid hands on my kids ever again. I used my words, and they turned out great.
You describe exactly how children react to physical punishment. With surprise and fear and a feeling of betrayal. I was so glad to see, that you realised it and stopped it.
Load More Replies...Why did the photos used for examples all have people with darker skin? This may have been a coincidence, but feels somewhat inadvertently racist.
Wow, I did not notice that. I went back up and looked, and you're right. ALL of the photos are like that. That's messed up.
Load More Replies...I doubt they would do anything. Discipline is up to the parents and often has to cross some pretty significant lines (much worse than this) for anything to happen.
Load More Replies...I was punished regularly with slaps, belts, and switches (sticks) - and aside from blurred vision and crippling emotional problems I turned out just fine.
I laughed but sardonically; I went through the same, and ended up the same as you. (I still remember being at a friend’s home. She had ELEVEN siblings, and I heard the way they spoke to their mom: “Get off my a*s!” “Leave me alone!” “F**k off!”). I decided I was gonna do this, too, so later that night while talking to my mom at the dinner table, I mustered all my courage and managed to squeak out a weak “Shut up.” I never saw the shot that knocked me off my chair to the floor. I never tried THAT again.)
Load More Replies...The kid was not the only one testing boundries. You set a clear boundry, and it wasn't unreasonable. It was the absolute minimum standard of being a step-parent: No beating the child. Then, without discussion, he decided than slamming doors in a tantrum deserved not just additional punishment, but being beaten with a belt. He's under stress with being unemployed, he thinks that he has the woman locked in, and the kid is being difficult. This is his character being revealed: being stressed and frustrated will cause him to overreact, get angry, and become agressive and violent. This woman did not over-react, he showed who he was, and she paid attention.
If you voted that this was an overreaction you're completely brain damaged! Or you were beaten as a kid and think it's OK. So yeah, brain damaged.
All I can say is, you NEVER take a belt to a child that age. I had that happen as a boy. My uncle did this regularly for the smallest of mistakes. Soooooo, when I joined the service, and after some "special" training, I visited him. I was in full dress uniform when I laid him out and kicked the ever loving s**t out of him. Then I told him why. Cathartic for me.
If parents DO decide to spank their kids (not recommended by child psychologists), researchers say that it MUST be with the hand, not an instrument (like a belt) and should never be done in the heat of anger. That wasn't discipline: that was abuse.
I spanked my daughter exactly once, when she took off sprinting through a parking lot. My thought was getting crushed by a car was worse than that. And she always held my hand in the parking lot after that. I'm not pro-spanking by any means because it does leave a permanent impression. I can remember my dad kicking my sister on the ground because she was "sassy". I agree there's a difference between discipline and abuse.
Load More Replies...I don’t have children, but if I did & anyone dared to raise a hand toward them? Then so help me god, I would break both their hands! I AM an auntie, though & I always make sure my nieces & nephews are safe. I protected my eldest niece (now 26) & her little brother when I was 14 & their dad got into a drunken state & got aggressive with my sister, as I locked the 3 of us in the upstairs bathroom & reassured that I wouldn’t let any harm come to them … they were 4 & 1 years old at the time. I’ll never condone acts of violence towards any vulnerable person & will always speak up for them, regardless of my own vulnerabilities. 😐🙅♀️
I would have done the same. And hopefully now the daughter knows that even when she's done something wrong, her Mum will protect her and be there for her. With luck this will make their relationship stronger. My parents always said to me "you can tell us anything, we may hit the roof (they were never physically violent) but we will still come down again and help you. No matter what".
I sure as h*ll hope she doesn't leave daughter alone with g-parents! They obviously don't believe in controlling their tempers. To wail on a child so much that they constantly fear your your actions, is unforgivable. Go on with your great ways, Mom!
I don't think a step parent should be disciplining their step children. I grew up with one who was allowed to use the belt. From the time I was 8 till I threatened him with a bat at 17 if he touched my younger brother for waking him up from a nap. I've never been that mad before or since, and I was seriously going to put him in the hospital.
I would be pressing charges. That is not "spanking", it is violent sexual assault. The buttocks have nerve connections to the genitals. [ .................. ] Ain't it funny how those who call it "discipline" only approve of it when the targets are the helpless and the weak? If a boss "spanked" an employee for misconduct, it would be called assault. So why not when adults use that violence against children?
Physical assault maybe, but you're really reaching to go for sexual assault which I've never heard anyone call a spanking in my life.
Load More Replies...I've spent over 30 years working with troubled kids and families. If you saw what I see; heard the stories I hear and witnessed the incidents I've witnessed, you would reject physical discipline for good. Regardless of what you may or may not believe about disciplining a child, the salient issue here is one of "my child, my rules." The mother chooses to discipline in a fashion that appears to work for her child. The BF comes along and, believing in a different form of discipline, disrespects the mother by using a method she rejects. He would be history in my home so fast his head would spin.
My late father used to take the belt to me and a bamboo cane. Guess who's funeral I didn't attend?? This mamma did good. I wonder if the child was playing up more because of his so called discipline being more than realised. My father was so strict I never went to school trips, discos or nightclubs, or out drinking and became an isolated young adult onwards. Never stayed at a friends house and was never allowed boyfriends to stay or visit. Discipline isn't discipline when it crosses into abuse and control and the child remains traumatised for life. What he said went from birth to escape. So glad this woman kicked his a**e out. Depending on the countries laws he could be done for that.
That is a good mom with the right instincts. Maybe she should thank her parents for doing a horrible job, it showed her what not to do and when her fiance needed to become her ex.
Domestic violence in any circumstance is wrong so why is "disciplining" children with fear and violence still acceptable to some?
The creeps who voted “It was an overreaction” beat their kids and perhaps even their spouses and should be ashamed of themselves. My folks taught me to hide things from them and to be afraid of them by beating us.
OP did the right thing. I’m just a child myself and my father uses physical displinary tactics on me all the time. I’ve taken to hiding the items that hurt the most when I think he’s going o be angry. Bevause once he hit me with a metal ladle and that sort of triggered a PTSD of metal.
I've had the belt and schambok... and a wooden spoon. I got better at not getting caught. I also feared them instead.
When it comes to discipline and children, there's a saying I heard once that I fully agree with: You instill fear, you EARN respect. Spanking and BEATING, which this was, instills fear.





















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