"I just got a call from an irate neighbor who informed me that my husband, "Carl," has been letting our 4-year-old son, "Justin," do something completely inappropriate when they're out walking around the neighborhood. The neighbor reported that she had just watched Carl direct Justin into her flower beds, where he proceeded to urinate on her flowers! She warned me that she would contact the police if it happened again."
"Dear Our Son, When I confronted my husband, he brushed it off, saying the neighbor was overreacting. Apparently, he encourages my son to relieve himself in our neighbors' planter beds regularly, whenever the mood strikes! He even tried to justify it by claiming it's no different than if he were walking a dog that needed to go."
"There is no guaranteed way to make your grown adult husband understand that what he's been doing is completely ridiculous; however, you can inform him of the potential consequences of continuing-and, hopefully, those would also include a drastic change to the nature of his relationship with you."
A husband routinely directs his four-year-old son to urinate in neighbors' flower beds during walks, treating the child like a pet and prompting an irate neighbor to threaten police involvement. The wife fears legal consequences, neighborhood conflict, and potential trauma for her son. Recommended responses include confronting the husband with clear boundaries, explaining possible legal and social repercussions, insisting the behavior stop immediately, and warning that continued enabling could alter the marital relationship. Additional steps include apologizing to affected neighbors, setting firm expectations for public behavior, and ensuring consistent supervision and toilet-training practices to prevent recurrence.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]