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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Wibu? Dragging my son across the room?

317 replies

FuryFowler · 01/09/2015 19:48

My son is 6 and was being a pain at bedtime this evening. I asked him repeatedly to come to bed. I just kept getting an outright no from him as he lay on the sofa. I asked and asked nicely, then I told him, then I shouted at him. Still saying no and basically being rude. I threatened him with dragging him off the sofa to his room, he still refused. So with 2yr old in arms I pulled him off the sofa by his arm and dragged him halfway across the room. I wasn't rough and was going to stop by the doorway in the hope that he would get the message and get up and walk.
I was stopped by my husband who yelled in my face scaring my 2yr old, shouting that "if I ever see you do anything like that again I'll slap you across this room!" He then took both crying kids off me, took them in to the bedroom and closed the door.
I was shocked. I'm now sitting in the car outside not wanting to go back in.
Not sure what to do now? Wibu?..... Tag, I've never dragged him before, he's never been so resistant before and my dh has never yelled like that before Sad

OP posts:
BeautifulBatman · 02/09/2015 05:23

Emnetta great suggestion, because all toddlers go to bed when we want them to with no trouble at all. Did you go to the same parenting and charm school as Lweji? Biscuit

IguanaTail · 02/09/2015 06:00

OP - Hope today goes well.

And don't worry about some of the comments.

Quintanimo · 02/09/2015 06:14

Confused - OP - I think you've been treated unreasonably harshly.

MaddyinaPaddy · 02/09/2015 06:20

All this blaming the dh is unfair!! Are you all saying of you witnessed someone being violent to your child you would not,in the heat of the moment yell 'stop that or i'll slap you'

Quintanimo · 02/09/2015 06:20

Obviously an injury would be horrid - but in principle I think an assertive physical intervention to insist that bedtime happens NOW is much kinder and more effective than long drawn out 'No-TV-today-because-you-didn't-listen-yesterday' - especially mixed up with starting school emotions.

I have 'pulled' DC when pregnancy made it a bad idea to lift. If their legs don't follow - I stop, regroup and find another strategy - like you did. It's not monstrous. I am glad your DH apologised though. Shouting at you like that was really not good.

BrendaFlange · 02/09/2015 06:32

Really glad you and DH have been able to talk about this properly.

He needs to tell the kids it was very bad to say that to Mummy, too.

scallopsrgreat · 02/09/2015 06:41

I'd tell someone to stop. I wouldn't threaten them with physical violence, no Maddy. It would never enter my head that would be an option.

MaddyinaPaddy · 02/09/2015 06:57

Really? Have you ever actually witnrssed another adult being violemt to your child? Besides why are you all taking tjhe dhs words so literally
So many threads on MN about wantimg to give someone a slap or 'I'd kill so and so if.

' it is a figure of speech for goodness sake!!

PegsPigs · 02/09/2015 07:03

My DD 2.5 is stubborn pretty much every bedtime so we tell her she can do it the nice way or the nasty way. The nasty way is no kiss for mummy or her baby sister and being carried upstairs. There's no dragging but it does require 2 hands. I'd advise making sure you only tackle one child at a time in future.

InimitableJeeves · 02/09/2015 07:08

I hope when you do your apologising that your son is also expected to apologise for his behaviour.

scallopsrgreat · 02/09/2015 07:11

Because he got in her face and shouted it at her, maddy. That's pretty threatening and I'd take it literally if it happened to me like that.

BathshebaDarkstone · 02/09/2015 07:16

I had to do that with DD when she was about 4 because she was so overtired at bedtime that it was the only way to put her pyjamas on. Now we do it before her TV before bed. So I do understand. I've never had a bedtime refuser, so I've no idea what to do. Wine though.

Lweji · 02/09/2015 07:21

I'd tell someone to stop. I wouldn't threaten them with physical violence, no Maddy. It would never enter my head that would be an option.

That fully applies to the op. Sadly.

What I'm disagreeing with is how somehow along the thread people started making excuses for the op on the basis of how the husband didn't act out initially. Unless he was causing the children to misbehave, he op's atitude towards the child is fully her own responsibility. It was a decision after a threat, it wasn't a complete spur of the moment, even.
I don't know what I'd threat with if someone dragged my child. Probably divorce if a partner did that again.

It looks, though, as you have problems with your husband. If I got the context right, as it was emerging, it needs addressing. But that is a separate issue from how you deal with the children. And it should never be used as an excuse.

I'd be telling you to consider ltb if he had dragged you like that.

On the other hand, it's possible I might also tell you to consider ltb after what you hinted about him and considering his threat (although, given your initial behaviour I don't think it was that unteasonable).

So, again, I'd mainly focus very hard on my behaviour in relation to the children. And make sure this was the only time anything like this happened. No excuses.

Btw, I usually find that being playful helps with defiant behaviour. Making it a race to the bedroom, for example, or promising something exciting.
We must really count to ten and take stock when we need to threaten with physical force.

Vernonon · 02/09/2015 07:27

This thread is incredible. If my dh told me he'd slap me across the room I don't know what I would do. Fortunately he would never ever think of screaming in my face or saying such a thing. And if I totally lost it with one of the kids he would help me.

scallopsrgreat · 02/09/2015 07:27

Lweji, I agree with your last post. I think the OP recognises her behaviour for what it was though.

Aeroflotgirl · 02/09/2015 07:43

lewj I think your one if the parents who are oh so perfect they don't put a foot wrong, what do you want op to do, she can't reverse what has happened, she should retainly not beat herself up about it, she sounds like a good parent who has learned from it. Your posts are not helpful, they serve to compund the situation, not help it!

Aeroflotgirl · 02/09/2015 07:45

Most of us have been there, but wou,d not admit it on here for the verbal berating we would get from a select few.

PrimalLass · 02/09/2015 07:59

Jesus Christ! Some posters are obviousoy Mary poppins. Practically perfect in every way.

This.

TheHouseOnTheLane · 02/09/2015 08:04

I've dragged my DD occasionally....if OP had said "pulled" would people have reacted differently?

When my DD behaved badly at this age, I've had no choice....I'm not sitting, discussing her desires for ten to fifteen minutes in the middle of cooking dinner etc!

TheHouseOnTheLane · 02/09/2015 08:06

I think the DH behaved FAR worse! Undermining her and threatening her in front of the DC! Shocking.

He only needed to dissipate the situation by removing the child who was being pulled by picking him up...OP had 2 year old

By the way op you should have put 2 year old down....much easier.

diddl · 02/09/2015 08:16

If husband was abused as a child, I'm astounded that he didn't step in much sooner tbh, pick up the 6yr & take him to bed.

Of course that doesn't make what OP did her husband's fault.

But the way he reacted to her & in front of the kids, bloody awful.

Bakeoffcake · 02/09/2015 08:35

I do hope you are all ok this morning. We all have times when we wish we'd behaved differently with our DC- unless we are perfect, which no one is, so don't be hard on yourselves.

When I first read the op I was concerned about the way your dh reacted but as he explained it brought back memories of his childhood, and he apologised as soon as you went home, I don't think you need to be concerned.

It's great you've had a good talk and hope today is a good day for you all.

Lweji · 02/09/2015 08:52

How is it undermining when one parent is behaving appallingly towards a child.

None of us are perfect, but we do need to draw the line somewhere and for me dragging a child forcefully is way beyond it.
When we start making excuses for it and minimising it, then we are entering abuse territory.

If you've done it more than once, I hope you take a long hard look at yourselves.

diddl · 02/09/2015 08:59

Husband could have taken the 2yr old so that OP could then carry the 6yr old to bed.

Aeroflotgirl · 02/09/2015 09:10

I think it's more like she pulled him, not dragged, Op has already admitted her fault and will do things differently next time, that's all she can do, I bet her ds so t give it a second thought of hold it against her.

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