Dad wants son to quit sports; says 'it's taking too much of my time.' AITA?
This dad says he doesn't hate the player but he does hate the game.
As you can read, the dad truly fumbled this one. He was trying to make his case but there was a flag on the field from the getgo. His perfomance was subpar and Reddit benched his butt. It's impossible to fathom how this father thought this post was going to be recieved, but it is delicious to see how it was smacked down.
"AITA? I want my son to stop playing sports."
I 42M have 1 son with my ex wife. We have been divorced for 9 years. She has a full custody. I get him every other weekend. My issue is that he has played soccer and bowling for years. It has interfered with my time. He seems to have something every Saturday.
I asked his mom if he can take a break. She told me if I wanted him not to play I have to tell him.
So I called my son he is 13. I told him that him playing sports is taking too much of my time. Plus I don't like that he has broken 2 bones. And countless bruises and scrapes. I am afraid people will think he is abused. Just 2 weeks ago he showed up with 3 cuts on his legs. When I asked his mom she was like who knows he is always out and about.
So after I told him. He basically said he wants to keep playing that soccer is his favorite and bowling is fun too. He basically told me I never go anyway so it's no big deal. Now he is right. I never played sports so I don't get the fun.
I called his mom and said he wants to play but I won't contribute anymore. I did say again that I don't like the idea of him playing. He has broken 2 bones. I did tell her I may consider talking to a lawyer. She laughed. Aita???
Here was the, pretty much what you are probably expecting, outrage from readers:
YTA. Your 13 y/o son likes sports. And instead of being there and supporting his interest, you are pouting and are asking him to quit something that's good for him. Instead of complaining, why don't you try showing some interest in your son's likes and be a supportive dad?
I guarantee he's one of those guys that doesn't do anything that is inconvenient for him. Well guess what- kids are inconvenient.
Do I want to sit for 4 hours in the hot sun every Saturday while my daughter does cheerleading and she's really only out there about 30 minutes of that time? No, but I do it to support my daughter and give her great life experiences. It's not about me and I'm happy to do it for her. Jeeze I wonder why this guy is divorced /s.
OP should put the 'sport' in SupPORTive dad.
Ugh, this post pissed me off so much…My parents got divorced when I was 9, I lived mostly with my mom, but I went to my dad’s place Tuesday and Thursday evenings for dinner and every other weekend, and for a few weeks/year during school breaks, when we’d usually go on a trip.
I had been riding horses since I was ~4, but when I was around 10 or 11, I started competing in horse shows, and by the time I was 12 or 13, all I wanted to do was ride and be at the barn and, particularly during the summer, was going to shows sometimes 2x/week, which really cut into my dad’s time with me.
You know what he did in response? He took me to dude ranches out west for our summer trips and rode horses with me. He drove, sometimes 4 hours round trip in a day, to watch me compete and spend time with me. Overall, he was probably at more shows than my mom.
He always loved photography as a hobby, so he got really good at taking pictures of me and my friends riding - to this day (I’m 43 now, lol) I have soooo many pictures he took at shows - and I know he gave up a lot of his custody time so I could be at the barn.
He wasn’t a perfect parent by any means, and definitely had his flaws, but all these years later, what stands out most is that he showed up, took an interest, got involved, sacrificed a lot so that I could participate and excel in the sport I loved, and used it as a way to bond and spend time with me.
That’s how a parent should respond to a situation like this, imo. OP, you’re a huge, gaping AH.
Op wants to spend more time with his son? Simple solution: GO TO HIS GAMES. Goodness gracious with the self-entitlement. Let the boy grow and play and learn sportsmanship and how to be a team player. YTA.
'I am afraid people will think he is abused.' Worst excuse ever. He may be now spending part of his time playing football (doing something that he likes with his friends) but if you take that from him guess he won't be spending time with you because he will be mad. Good way of making him not like you. YTA, sorry.
He doesn’t go to his sporting games. He’s a deadbeat dad.