Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Step-Grandpa Targets Child With A “Lesson,” Mom Walks Out While Hubs Blames Cultural Gap
Thanksgiving is supposed to be about turkey and possibly awkwardly dodging political debates with your relatives. Still, sometimes it’s less grateful gathering and more of an emotional obstacle course disguised as a holiday.
For today’s Original Poster (OP), this Thanksgiving took a sharp turn when her son refused to hug his grandmother. What came after that was a full-blown debate over respect, autonomy, and the line between teaching manners and teaching fear.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
Sometimes the lessons we teach our kids land perfectly in our own homes, but completely miss the mark with grandparents
Image credits: Yan Krukau / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The author often taught her kids that they don’t have to give hugs or kisses if they don’t want to, emphasizing bodily autonomy and consent
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
During Thanksgiving at her mother-in-law and stepfather-in-law’s house, her son chose not to hug the mother-in-law and this upset the stepfather-in-law
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: Arina Krasnikova / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The stepfather-in-law then had to go to the store for a shallot and returned with candy for all the kids except the son, claiming it’s a “lesson” for his refusal to hug the mother-in-law
Image credits: anonymous
The author immediately shut down the emotional manipulation, returned the candy, and left with her kids after telling her in-laws that they will no longer see her son
The OP started by explaining that she had always taught her kids that they didn’t owe anyone hugs, kisses, or physical contact to spare adults’ feelings. Due to this, her daughter sometimes chose to hug her grandmother out of sympathy, while her son opted out. She also noted that their grandmother wasn’t cruel, but just distant and awkward with kids.
They decided to spend Thanksgiving with the grandmother and step-grandfather, however when they got there, the OP’s son hugged everyone else except the grandmother. The grandfather then tried to guilt-trip her son into giving a hug, but the OP didn’t tolerate that.
At some point during the gathering, the grandfather had to run to the store for a shallot and returned with candy for every child except the OP’s son because he didn’t hug the grandmother. Upset, she asked the grandfather why he excluded her son, to which he responded that he also “owed no one anything” and wasn’t responsible for her son’s feelings.
The OP returned her daughter’s candy, gathered her kids, and left, but not before informing them that they would never see her son again. While her husband argued she was overreacting and should consider generational and cultural differences, she couldn’t shake the feeling of anger that came with a grown man excluding a child to “teach him a lesson”.
Image credits: Michael T / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Research shows that respecting a child’s autonomy over physical affection is not just polite, but it’s crucial for healthy emotional development. According to Lovevery, allowing children to decline hugs or kisses helps them build self-confidence, autonomy, and strong boundaries, while also teaching bodily consent and emotional regulation.
This approach aligns closely with modern parenting philosophies. Roo Parenting emphasizes open dialogue, consent, and positive reinforcement, aiming to nurture independence and emotional resilience. In contrast, traditional or culturally influenced parenting often prioritizes obligation, strict compliance, and hierarchical authority, which can clash with children’s desire for autonomy.
Simply Psychology notes that guilt trips, passive-aggressive behavior, and emotional coercion can undermine children’s self-esteem, foster resentment, impair communication skills, and strain the relationships with the adults in their lives.
Children exposed to these behaviors may develop low self-esteem, people-pleasing tendencies, and anxiety, struggling to express feelings and set boundaries. In the Thanksgiving scenario, the son being excluded from candy and subjected to a guilt-laden lecture reflects how such dynamics can create emotional distress and undermine trust between children and adults.
Netizens felt the OP’s reaction was extreme, arguing that her children might be mirroring her attitude toward their grandmother. They suggested that the son’s refusal to hug the grandmother wasn’t purely autonomy but also emotional modeling. Others strongly defended the mom’s stance, emphasizing the inappropriate emotional manipulation behind the candy incident.
What do you think about this situation? Was the OP overreacting by banning the grandfather from seeing her son, or was it justified? We would love to know your thoughts!
Netizens felt the stepfather-in-law’s punishment carried an unhealthy message, but they also criticized the author’s reaction was extreme
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
What do you think ?
Janelle Collard 2 days ago (edited)
If son doesn't want to hug MIL, that's his choice/right. For FIL to punish him for not hugging? That's being a petty, nasty @ssh0le. "My body, my choice" is not just about women + their choices to continue a pregnancy or not. Little kids *also* have that right. Possibly, OP's son has picked up on OP's dislike of MIL and acted accordingly. But again - he's a KID. FIL is, supposedly, a grown-up.
Zoe Vokes 1 day ago
I hated hugging and kissing anybody as a child. I wouldn’t do it and my mum wouldn’t make me but always explained it like “Isn’t she odd. She doesn’t want to hug and kiss anyone. It’s not normal,” rather than be actually supportive. That said, it is a bit odd to hug everyone else except for one person. Is it because MIL isn’t an affectionate person so son hasn’t bonded with her or does son have a reason for being uncomfortable around her? Just wondering if she said or did something that upset him previously and OP doesn’t know about it
Load More Replies...
Rick Murray 2 days ago
Everybody but the kid is an AH here really. FIL for clearly excluding him because he doesn't want to hug somebody, and his mom for "never darken my doorstep again". A child shouldn't be punished for making a choice about how close they want to get to somebody, but - really - the adults in the room ought to try acting like f*****g adults.
Rick Murray 2 days ago
From my own perspective, I was forced to hug a bunch of proxy adults who were "aunties and uncles" in that weird way that "people your parents know" turn into. I hardly knew any of these people, we rarely ever interacted aside from holidays. So when I was old enough to nope out of all of that and stay home by myself, I did exactly that. I think my mom thought being left behind was a punishment. Oh really? Spending Christmas day by myself lying in bed with a tub of ice cream and watching The Empire Strikes Back for like the eighth time as it was on every Christmas? Bliss! Besides, I wasn't alone. On the back of the bed was a random pile of budgies. Every so often they'd squabble and push each other off so I'd have to intervene. I wasn't alone...
Load More Replies...
FreeTheUnicorn 2 days ago (edited)
Returning daughters candy was th right move, don't accept payment for hugs. Leaving was the right move, don't have your kids stay in a situation where it's only going to be an escalating argument. Declaring NC with Step-papi is too extreme and inflammatory. This sabotages further conversation, and makes it harder for everyone to figure out how to navigate this. Step-GP saw the interaction and saw it as bullying his wife, embarrassing her in front of family. That's not what was going on from anyone elses perspective, but that's what he saw. So he decided to bully and embarrass the kid to teach him a lesson or some other terrible parenting effort. Both need to be addressed, first, not getting a hug is fine. The kid wasn't rude, he just didn't want a hug. If this is really a problem, maybe go to no hugs or all hugs but really adults should be ok Second, rewarding all the kids but one is clearly a punishment for not behaviour that's within the rules but Papi doesn't like 1/2
FreeTheUnicorn 2 days ago
He's not the parent, he shouldn't punish the kid. As an adult he needs to not be driven by emotion. But it is something he could work on Now that he's been officially shunned, that's probably not going to happen. Also husband should be involved in decisions that affect his family. So worst AH is Step-grandad but OP is second place AH. Stick to bodily autonomy, but emotional overreactions are the issue, so it's inappropriate to then go nuclear about a chocolate bar. Just leaving would have been fine.
Load More Replies... Janelle Collard 2 days ago (edited)
If son doesn't want to hug MIL, that's his choice/right. For FIL to punish him for not hugging? That's being a petty, nasty @ssh0le. "My body, my choice" is not just about women + their choices to continue a pregnancy or not. Little kids *also* have that right. Possibly, OP's son has picked up on OP's dislike of MIL and acted accordingly. But again - he's a KID. FIL is, supposedly, a grown-up.
Zoe Vokes 1 day ago
I hated hugging and kissing anybody as a child. I wouldn’t do it and my mum wouldn’t make me but always explained it like “Isn’t she odd. She doesn’t want to hug and kiss anyone. It’s not normal,” rather than be actually supportive. That said, it is a bit odd to hug everyone else except for one person. Is it because MIL isn’t an affectionate person so son hasn’t bonded with her or does son have a reason for being uncomfortable around her? Just wondering if she said or did something that upset him previously and OP doesn’t know about it
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 2 days ago
Everybody but the kid is an AH here really. FIL for clearly excluding him because he doesn't want to hug somebody, and his mom for "never darken my doorstep again". A child shouldn't be punished for making a choice about how close they want to get to somebody, but - really - the adults in the room ought to try acting like f*****g adults.
Rick Murray 2 days ago
From my own perspective, I was forced to hug a bunch of proxy adults who were "aunties and uncles" in that weird way that "people your parents know" turn into. I hardly knew any of these people, we rarely ever interacted aside from holidays. So when I was old enough to nope out of all of that and stay home by myself, I did exactly that. I think my mom thought being left behind was a punishment. Oh really? Spending Christmas day by myself lying in bed with a tub of ice cream and watching The Empire Strikes Back for like the eighth time as it was on every Christmas? Bliss! Besides, I wasn't alone. On the back of the bed was a random pile of budgies. Every so often they'd squabble and push each other off so I'd have to intervene. I wasn't alone...
Load More Replies... FreeTheUnicorn 2 days ago (edited)
Returning daughters candy was th right move, don't accept payment for hugs. Leaving was the right move, don't have your kids stay in a situation where it's only going to be an escalating argument. Declaring NC with Step-papi is too extreme and inflammatory. This sabotages further conversation, and makes it harder for everyone to figure out how to navigate this. Step-GP saw the interaction and saw it as bullying his wife, embarrassing her in front of family. That's not what was going on from anyone elses perspective, but that's what he saw. So he decided to bully and embarrass the kid to teach him a lesson or some other terrible parenting effort. Both need to be addressed, first, not getting a hug is fine. The kid wasn't rude, he just didn't want a hug. If this is really a problem, maybe go to no hugs or all hugs but really adults should be ok Second, rewarding all the kids but one is clearly a punishment for not behaviour that's within the rules but Papi doesn't like 1/2
FreeTheUnicorn 2 days ago
He's not the parent, he shouldn't punish the kid. As an adult he needs to not be driven by emotion. But it is something he could work on Now that he's been officially shunned, that's probably not going to happen. Also husband should be involved in decisions that affect his family. So worst AH is Step-grandad but OP is second place AH. Stick to bodily autonomy, but emotional overreactions are the issue, so it's inappropriate to then go nuclear about a chocolate bar. Just leaving would have been fine.
Load More Replies... You May Like 58 Times Parents Turned Their Crazy Moments Into Funny Tweets This November “Because I Was Born Male”: 36 Cases Where Parents Dislike Or Actually Hate Their Kids “Vain, Selfish, Unloving Sociopath”: 26 Moments In Which Parents Realized Their Kids Are Monsters
Evelina Šiukšterytė
Dominyka Proškėnaitė
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Related on Bored Panda
29
26