'Crazy and wrong': Internet sides with mom who refuses to punish daughter for 'cheating on boyfriend'
Should a 7-year-old's 'relationship' be taken seriously by her parents? That is a question being debated in Reddit's popular forum "Am I The A**hole". The scenario was posted by original poster (OP) u/EfficientAd4006 and garnered 25k upvotes, and almost 3k replies from fellow Redditors.
In the Reddit post titled "AITA for not punishing my 7 yo daughter for her play-relationships?", a mother writes that her 7-year-old daughter has a 'boyfriend' named Lucas. "They are both 7, so it's obviously not a real relationship. They just hold hands sometimes and they drew each other hearts for valentines day."
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'Layla is 7, not a cheater and I won't treat her as such'
She added, "This week, Layla was apparently holding hands with another boy - who also sent Layla a valentine's day love letter - and Lucas took offence to it. We found out because Lucas' parents called to tell us Lucas won't be coming over to us this Saturday like it was originally planned, because he is mad at Layla."
Her husband wants to punish Layla but OP doesn't agree with him. She says, "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 behaviour. AITA for not wanting to punish Layla?"
'This is beyond ridiculous!'
The post became quite popular on the seubreddit aand the majority of user branded the OP as NTA (Not The A**hole) but did recommend that she talk to her daughter and explain to her that her actions might have hurt her 'boyfriend's' feelings. One user wrote, "She's 7. It's ridiculous to call her a "cheater". At the same time, you can sit her down and explain why Lucas is upset and doesn't want to see her. That's more than enough of a lesson. NTA.
Another user echoed the sentiment, commenting, "NTA This is beyond ridiculous! These kids are seven years old! There can be no cheating if the people involved are not in a committed relationship. How stupid to suggest that these two little kids are in any way in that typed of relationship. They are friends. By my lights, to punish your daughter in this situation would be crazy and wrong. I would just talk to her in simple terms about trying not to hurt a friend's feelings.
A third user wrote, "NTA. Telling Layla that Lucas is upset because she played with someone else, that would be a good thing. Teaching empathy and that people exist when she is not there and all that. But lecturing and punishing her for cheating? That implies a greater understanding of interpersonal relationships and her own feelings than any 7-year-old can be expected to have. At that age children are still learning about their own feelings, and what they mean. They don't really understand what boyfriend and girlfriend is yet."
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