To not insist he went?

[eternalnamechange]

Took DS12 into town yesterday and he chose a small gift and card for his dad for Fathers Day.

We had plans today, and this wasn't his weekend for seeing his dad, however dad lives literally a minute away. I asked if he was going to go and give his dad his gift/card before we went out. He said no. I asked if he didn't think that he should. He again said no, and that his dad wouldn't care. He'll see his dad tomorrow as he normally does on a Monday. I made sure he sent him a text, and we drove past his dad an hour later, so he was obviously going out anyway.

But should I have insisted he went and said happy Father's Day on the day itself, considering how close we live?

Is his Dad usually considerate of your sons feelings, and generally a good dad to him?
If so yes I would have "encouraged" him to go. Kids that age can sometimes be a bit ignorant and I'm sure his dad would have appreciated it.

Would you not mind if it was Mothers Day and the situation was reversed?

If he is a good father and a decent guy, then yes, I do think popping round for a bit would have been a nice thing to do. I would be a bit hurt if my child lived a minute away and couldn't say hi for 5 minutes on fathers day.

That's what I've been thinking, but I'm genuinely don't think I'd be too upset, but that's because I know DS isn't very outwardly affectionate just now, which I put down to being 12. I know he loves me and loves his dad.

He always comes home to me on a Sunday, so I see him on Mother's Day regardless, although we were going out for a family lunch this year and so I asked to have him back earlier that day.

There have been a lot of times over the years where I've seriously questioned his priorities, and as DS has gotten older, he seems to have felt the same on occasion, but he isn't a bad dad.