We always support motherhood and understand how difficult it is. It is one of the most challenging journeys of life and all mothers need to be treated with kindness and love otherwise we can’t be a positive society. But there are some instances where mothers need to understand the needs of others, also. Such is today’s Reddit story about a mom who brought her baby to a child-free wedding.
The Story
Redditor, babyweddingthrowaway, published her story on AITA (Am I the A**hole?) to ask the community whether she was wrong for bringing her baby to a child-free wedding. She wrote:
“My cousin lives a 6 hour drive from me and the rest of our family. A few months ago we all drove over there for his wedding. Due to limited space, no children were invited to the wedding except the bride’s young nieces and nephews.”
“My baby was 10 months old at the time and I wasn’t comfortable leaving him alone in an unfamiliar place with a stranger, which was a babysitter that my other cousins hired for their own kids. So I decided to bring him to the wedding. I wrote on the RSVP that I was bringing him but he would be sitting on my lap and I would bring my own food for him. My cousin didn’t say anything so I assumed that he was OK with it.”
“My baby cried at the ceremony but I quickly took him out of the room. At the reception I had him with me the whole time in a body carrier. He didn’t make much of a fuss and I thought everything was OK.”
“After the wedding my aunt (groom’s mom) confronted me and told me that I was rude for bringing my baby without permission. I explained that I wrote on the RSVP what I was planning to do but my cousin didn’t object. She said that my cousin and his bride had a problem with it but the bride didn’t want to start any drama because she doesn’t know me well.”
“My other cousin’s baby was 7 months old at the time and my aunt said that he had no problem leaving his baby with the “certified” babysitter and I should of done the same. And some of my cousins were upset because they thought that the groom gave me special treatment by letting me bring my baby and making them leave their kids with a babysitter. I didn’t mean to start any drama. AITA?”
The Responses
Reddit’s community was not having any of it. They unanimously disagreed with this woman. For context, YTA means “You’re the A**hole.” Here are some of the top comments:
brainybae wrote:
“YTA – your baby literally did the thing that the bride/groom wanted to avoid – disrupt the ceremony. You had plenty of time to find a babysitter or other family member to watch your kid while you went to the wedding but decided that you were just above the rules.”
Agreeable-Owl-6269 said:
“People like you get on my nerves. Child free means child free. You do not get to change the rules of someone’s wedding because you didnt want a babysitter. It’s very entitled. YTA.”
TinyRascalSaurus commented:
“YTA. You can’t just write in a plus one. Especially a child at a child free wedding. Your child was disruptive for the bit before you took them out, which is exactly what the couple didn’t want. You disrespected the bride and groom, violated their wishes, and disrupted the ceremony. This was extremely not okay of you. If you can’t find a suitable childcare arrangement, stay home.”
CrystalQueen3000 chimed in:
“YTA absolutely and without question.”
“Child free means child free, if you don’t want to leave your baby with a babysitter then you stay home.”
“You were incredibly rude.”
“The reason a lot of people want child free weddings is so they don’t have their vows interrupted or ruined by screaming kids. Yours did exactly that.”
“The world doesn’t revolve around you and your choices. You don’t get to write ‘I’m bringing my kid’ on an a child free invite.”
“What is wrong with you?”
CranberrySafe3271 said:
“YTA.”
“This was immensely inconsiderate on multiple levels. 1) To the bride and groom who made their wishes clear; 2) to the people who were looking forward to a child free wedding; and 3) especially the people who made proper arrangements and didn’t bring their kids, even though they may have wanted to.”
“You’ve now made the bride and groom look like they gave you special treatment and not other guests. That’s extremely unkind and thoughtless of you.”
“You owe them an apology.”
Sleepy_felines commented:
“YTA.”
“You were told the wedding was child free. If you’re not comfortable leaving the baby then the correct RSVP was “I’m sorry but I can’t come”, not “I’ve decided the rules don’t apply to me”. He cried during the ceremony- exactly what they were trying to avoid.”
Agreeable-Tale9729 said:
“YTA. You knew in advance that the wedding was childfree. If you weren’t comfortable with the babysitter, then you should’ve provided your own. Choosing to ignore the bride/grooms instructions isn’t ok. It never should’ve come to writing that you were going to completely ignore what they asked on their RSVP. It should’ve been a phone call with bride/groom to get permission.”
There are over 6k comments and responses on this post at the time of writing this article, you can read them all on Reddit here.
What’s Your Take?
Do you think this woman did the right thing or not? Let us know your take in the comments below.
Source: Reddit
The biggest day of her life and she states ‘CHILD FREE WEDDING”, You take it upon yourself to bring your child…. Are you a jerk? With a capital “J”ERK , you are. If you couldn’t find a sitter , you should not have gone, explained to the bride and I’m sure she would have understood. Come on people… use some common sense and courtesy.