Mom makes daughter go to school after cat dies. Says, 'Sorry, this is the real world.'
When this mom is questioning her own parenting, she asks Reddit:
'AITA for making my daughter still go to (summer) school after her cat passed away?'
My daughter (17f) had to take summer school as she fell behind due to contracting 'long covid' (she's better now) but has to catch up on her credts. Her/Our cat passed away (cardiomyopathy) on sunday.
She was grief stricken we all were. She wanted the day off from school but my husband and i decided she should still go because shes almost an adult, and in the real world barring serious illnesses you still have to go work (in her case school) even when life gets hard.
We too are grief stricken but are still going to work. We are trying to prepare her for the real world. AITA?
Let's see what readers thought about this parenting move. They were definitely torn.
snifferbear writes:
YTA. Although this is fairly standard, I just think the mentality of “You’re experience grief for maybe the first time (depending on experience and age). Well, welcome to the real world. We are going to go on with our day and have no follow up on your feelings, because this is the real world. Welcome to it.”
We do so much damage to ourselves. What is so important in life that we bypass these essential moments of growth and connection, and call it the real world. No wonder we are so messed up.
notthedoc disagrees:
NTA. Sorry for the loss of your kitty. It would be really nice if your daughter could take time off, but unfortunately she is already behind in school and really needs to attend. She can’t risk falling further behind and you are doing the right thing by making sure she keeps going.
sub2007 writes:
YTA. I am an adult, who has had a paying job in the real world for a long time now. During that time I've lost quite a few pets, and each time my manager/supervisor has allowed or encouraged me to take time off the day after to deal with what happened, and now that I'm a manager I do the same for my staff.
If she's upset and crying she's not going to be able to turn off her feelings and learn and have a productive day. I'd say it's much better to take the time to work through those feelings and go back on Tuesday with a clearer head and more settled heart.