When Reddit user Educational-Newt2449 moved in with her family, the woman thought she would be caring only for her mother.
However, she quickly realized that her sister, who was also living with their parents along with her children, was a neglectful mother. And as the situation became increasingly dire, the Redditor found herself stepping in to provide the support and stability the kids desperately needed.
But the intervention sparked an emotional conflict within the household, seriously straining the relationship between the adults. So the woman made a post on r/AITAH, detailing her experience and asking people for an outsider’s perspective on the whole ordeal.
This woman was appalled by her sister’s lack of involvement in her kids’ lives
Image credits Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels (not the actual photo)
So she decided to take action, however, the sister wasn’t happy with the woman’s involvement and took it personally
Image credits MART PRODUCTION / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits Liza Summer / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Educational-Newt2449
It sounds like the kids really needed a responsible adult
Image credits: Vika Glitter / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Research says that the uninvolved parenting style is the one most likely to have negative effects on children. Although many children brought up this way become quite independent, they often do so out of necessity and as a means of survival.
A prolonged failure to respond to a child’s needs can have devastating consequences both in the short and long term. The most common symptoms of emotional neglect in children include:
- depression;
- anxiety;
- apathy;
- failure to thrive;
- hyperactivity;
- aggression;
- developmental delays;
- low self-esteem;
- substance misuse;
- withdrawing from friends and activities;
- appearing uncaring or indifferent;
- shunning emotional closeness or intimacy.
Also, people who are neglected as children carry a lot of challenges into their adulthood as well — since their emotional needs weren’t validated in their youth, they may not know how to deal with their feelings when things get heated.
The most common effects of childhood neglect in adulthood include:
- post-traumatic stress disorder;
- depression;
- emotional unavailability;
- increasing likelihood of an eating disorder;
- shunning intimacy;
- feeling deeply, personally flawed;
- feeling empty;
- poor self-discipline;
- guilt and shame;
- anger and aggressive behaviors;
- difficulty trusting others or relying upon anyone else.
Economist Melissa Kearney, who has been both vilified and praised for her book The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, is especially worried about the millions of boys who have just their mothers and no male role models around them.
So the fact that the author of the post stepped up for the kids is truly commendable, especially since their grandparents are dealing with their own troubles and are limited in their ability to help.
However, what’s worrying is that her sister, who is clearly overwhelmed with her parenting duties, isn’t actively looking for support. We don’t have the complete picture, and in her defense, in many cases, uninvolved parenting isn’t an intentional choice, so it’s likely that the mom reverted to this style because she has issues of her own.
Hopefully, this experience will serve as a wake-up call.
The woman provided more details on the situation in the comments
And people who read her story said she did nothing wrong
