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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband says he doesn't want to parent

216 replies

Youlookgorge · 18/01/2026 09:32

Long story short - two kids under 5
Workaholic husband, sold part of business, lots of free time in last year, changing his career to be something he enjoys and is flexible
I retrain and get back to work - fitting everything around family and kids - now i am up and running with new career and spending more time out the house
Husband taking on more of a role with cooking, pick ups / drop offs, but still most house keeping and planning falls to me
He has been extremely negative about the kids, he isn't really coping when he has both of them in the house by himself and the weather doesnt help
It seems even though he has free time he doesnt want to spend it with them
He seems to resent me going back to work and its causing a lot of problems
He seems depressed
We have no family support but do have some paid support and kids in nursery 3 days a week plus they have activites on other days
The kids are also feral right now which i am guessing is normal for this age
We arent really coping and i dont really know what to do about it - on paper we have everything
Its made me really sad to know he doesn't enjoy being a parent or want to spend this time with them before they start school and its increasingly hard to do the job i have trained for because i know it puts pressure on him

OP posts:
TheDaringFawn · 18/01/2026 15:00

OneZanyPoet · 18/01/2026 11:35

Oh and the childcare he does amounts to malicious compliance - “lets them run riot”.

What does he bring to the table exactly?

Add in weqponised incompetence too, also... why is he stating he will be doing a fulltime uni course 2 hours away?

It seems youd be better single.without extra parrner who is acting like a twenty year old

Daygloboo · 18/01/2026 15:01

ShowmetheMapletree · 18/01/2026 14:18

I took it as though op, and her dh are at work on those 3 days?

Some people just cant do it and it's got nothing to do with laziness. Their brains literally cant do what is required.

Daygloboo · 18/01/2026 15:04

intrepidpanda · 18/01/2026 15:00

That would be me. So guess what. I didn't have them

I sometimes wish there was a test to see who can parent and who cant because some people just cant. I've long felt that some people just shouldn't have kids. It's axskill some just don't have. I wish more people would realise that. Some people should not be parents.

Slightyamusedandsilly · 18/01/2026 15:04

Youlookgorge · 18/01/2026 14:51

Ok so my plan is to hire a full time nanny - possibly even someone to live in - I have already put up an advert. They can come with me swimming and takeover one of their activities in the week, and help with drop off and pick ups.

As for our relationship, not really sure where it leaves us. Its a massive massive ick when someone doesnt want parent

In meantime i will endeavour to give them double helpings of my love

Sorry to be so personal, @Youlookgorgebut are you still sexually intimate with your DH?

Because having a partner so useless is a massive ick, isn't it?

Inawhylcroc · 18/01/2026 15:06

OP is he planning to keep the business running and keep financially contributing when he is at uni?

If not, he is demanding that you not only take care of the kids be it directly or through a nanny but also to bankroll everything.

It would be a hard no for me!

This is the kind of man who will will leave after he has sucked you dry.

silverwrath · 18/01/2026 15:09

'The kids are also feral right now which i am guessing is normal for this age'

Nope.

Maybe you both would benefit from parenting classes.

Alpacajigsaw · 18/01/2026 15:11

rubyslippers · 18/01/2026 09:41

He’s not depressed
he’s lazy and wants you to continue to be the default parent
you don’t just get to opt out - well many men do
two under 5 is hard work but they’re in nursery three days and assume that is free time?
do not give your career up at this stage
You both need to talk this through and be prepared that he won’t give answers you like

This

”depressed” my arse.

He just wants you to do it all rather than him

BinaryDot · 18/01/2026 15:11

When I read in your OP:

He has been extremely negative about the kids, he isn't really coping when he has both of them in the house by himself

I thought immediately of the two couples I've known where the husband responded in this way. Both turned out to have ASD, as yours does. In one case, the wife took on all the childcare, with family support, and the husband has a relationship with his late teen kids, but there's a distance (which he understands, he's a decent man in lots of ways).

In the other case, there was a divorce - later perhaps than it should have been - and a lot of fallout, including for the kids who have a very fractured relationship with their father.

In neither case was the Dad able to fundamentally change, it would have been better for both families if the ASD was known about before kids and they'd been able to come to terms with the fathers not being able to parent in the expected way and accept more radical 'solutions'.

Just two possibly unrepresentative anecdotes I realise.

HoppityBun · 18/01/2026 15:13

The kids are also feral right now which i am guessing is normal for this age

I thought YANBU until I read this.

Not normal at any age.

HoppityBun · 18/01/2026 15:13

The kids are also feral right now which i am guessing is normal for this age

I thought YANBU until I read this.

Not normal at any age.

frozendaisy · 18/01/2026 15:14

So what does he say when you point out that being, and continuing to be a husband and a father isn’t all about what he wants you have to put what the children need first, whatever that is. And it’s money and time.

They might be both in school in a few years but school day ends at 3.30pm it’s not like they can commute themselves and come home and make food.

Have you talked about the possibly of your children being ND? Not a certainty but what ifs are good to run through, if they need extra help is he going to be there.

He needs to let go of this selfishness and tunnel vision which I understand is can be more difficult with ND but he is part of two adults who brought two new humans into this world and he needs to start behaving like it. ND or not we as adults and parents have to take responsibility for what we do and yes bringing up kids can be boring, repetitive and difficult, it’s thankless and expensive. But tough titties buttercup that is what you have done.

I would tell him if he wants to remain part of your two adult two kid household that he can do what he likes once xyz is covered, time outside of that (which will be very little)!is his own.

He could do an open university degree whilst kids in school and once they have gone to bed, from the comfort of his household in the time he has available.

But this probably won’t happen - you will effectively be a single parent within a marriage and he will swoop in when he feels like it, you will then feel grateful and he will happily take the praise when people say what nice kids or when they achieve something.

You need to nip this in the bud now, kids need more time outside school hours as they get older, its different, but still they need homework, school admin, uniforms, activities and emotional support with social issues as well as fun family time.

Talk to him seriously- he needs to understand how low down the selfish pecking order he has become.

NotMeNorI · 18/01/2026 15:14

If you can afford more paid help, then get it, but do not let him use that as an excuse to avoid parenting or to leave all of the home/parent responsibilities with you. All that will end up happening is he'll go off to uni or find other things to occupy his time, while you spend all of your free time doing things for others (parenting, housework, working etc.).

My Au-ADHD husband went through a similar phase when our child was born - massively struggled to adjust to the loss of free time and to see value in time spent with a baby, as in his mind he wasn't being 'productive'. It took a while but he now realises that playing, learning, quality time etc. is the 'job' he's doing when he's providing childcare, and he will eventually get his free time back when they're a bit older. We have childcare three days a week and I work full-time so he does childcare on two days - one is a 'play at home' day and the other is a day out for the two of them. Could he look into some activities he'd possibly enjoy more (trampolining, outdoor centers, toddler cinema sessions etc.)?

Couples counselling might be a good idea, if you can get the time? You don't know how he's presenting things in his sessions and it might take an outsider to spell it out for him.

SandyLanes · 18/01/2026 15:16

I’ve said this before on here but a lot of men don’t want to parent. They want kids, because it’s the done thing in their eyes, or possible it’s an ego thing, but once they are lumbered with the responsibility of children, they’re not up for it.

Inawhylcroc · 18/01/2026 15:17

You rarely hear of men reporting that their ND wives don’t want to parent.

Let’s face it society has created a situation where it’s semi-acceptable for a man ND or not, to opt out of parenthood.

These men know their limitations before, they rarely even stop at one child and go onto have more. This is because like most men they’re obsessed with their so-called “legacy” and carrying on their genes, but not so obsessed with actually being a good father.

ND women cope and figure out ways to manage because they’re driven by love, a sense of responsibility and quite frankly social expectations.

The men who opt out just don’t love enough and society doesn’t come down on men hard enough for being like this.

Sorry but there’s no excuse for it.

Inawhylcroc · 18/01/2026 15:19

SandyLanes · 18/01/2026 15:16

I’ve said this before on here but a lot of men don’t want to parent. They want kids, because it’s the done thing in their eyes, or possible it’s an ego thing, but once they are lumbered with the responsibility of children, they’re not up for it.

Yep, I’ve heard it said (some) men want kids in the same way that children want puppies.

Meaning they don’t want the actual responsibility and may soon lose interest.

Ilovepastafortea · 18/01/2026 15:20

Oh dear, I'm sorry, but you have 3 children here.

I'm really wondering, if you have the money to pay for a full time nanny, why you're still in this relationship?

You do all the domestic work, you earn the money and now he wants to opt out to do a university course? All he does is a couple of hours here & there!

I hope that he's really good in bed because I can't see what else there is to commend him.

I rarely say this, but you would be better off on your own.

Newyearawaits · 18/01/2026 15:22

rubyslippers · 18/01/2026 09:41

He’s not depressed
he’s lazy and wants you to continue to be the default parent
you don’t just get to opt out - well many men do
two under 5 is hard work but they’re in nursery three days and assume that is free time?
do not give your career up at this stage
You both need to talk this through and be prepared that he won’t give answers you like

This
Many parents (predominantly women) who are responsible for parenting very young children find it lonely, isolating and exhausting. That is the normal.
Please don't regret retraining and pursuing your career just as because your husband finds it hard.
As pp said, your kids are in nursery 3 days a week.
Take care OP.
Hope you are able to talk about this

JHound · 18/01/2026 15:23

Yet ANOTHER man who wanted children but did not want to be a father.

JohnTheRevelator · 18/01/2026 15:24

Sorry OP but he just sounds like a typical man in my opinion.

Coaly · 18/01/2026 15:28

Youlookgorge · 18/01/2026 14:51

Ok so my plan is to hire a full time nanny - possibly even someone to live in - I have already put up an advert. They can come with me swimming and takeover one of their activities in the week, and help with drop off and pick ups.

As for our relationship, not really sure where it leaves us. Its a massive massive ick when someone doesnt want parent

In meantime i will endeavour to give them double helpings of my love

Good woman.
No point in faffing about trying to change him.
He's just another lazy selfish arsehole who thinks a label can excuse him from the admittedly tough years of rearing children.

Just one word of caution, don't be lulled into the false narrative of feral children is inevitable.
It isn't.
Get a kind, calm, experienced nanny who is firm and capable of controlling your children and instilling some necessary boundaries with your help.
Live in preferably.

Feral children don't disappear, they get worse and worse and it is 100% the parents fault.

I had a son who was a demon, a bolter, and stubborn to boot.
It took a lot of effort but I simply wouldn't tolerate it.
Within a few years he grew out of it because I simply wouldn't tolerate it.
He is the loveliest young man aceing his Chemical Engineer Masters at a top university.
I have seen feral children not succeeding in life because of gentle parenting that couldn't control them.

Boundaries, routine and love provide children with the security to grow into healthy young people.

Choose the Nanny wisely to help you with this and educate yourself too.

FairKoala · 18/01/2026 15:28

No one enjoys parenting 2 under 5s. However he could use his imagination and if he has a hobby or something he likes doing he could make it a child friendly version and take them out for the day to do it.

If he doesn’t put the work in now then I can assure him that when dc get to an age he does enjoy being with them they won’t give him the time of day.

Comtesse · 18/01/2026 15:28

Inawhylcroc · 18/01/2026 15:17

You rarely hear of men reporting that their ND wives don’t want to parent.

Let’s face it society has created a situation where it’s semi-acceptable for a man ND or not, to opt out of parenthood.

These men know their limitations before, they rarely even stop at one child and go onto have more. This is because like most men they’re obsessed with their so-called “legacy” and carrying on their genes, but not so obsessed with actually being a good father.

ND women cope and figure out ways to manage because they’re driven by love, a sense of responsibility and quite frankly social expectations.

The men who opt out just don’t love enough and society doesn’t come down on men hard enough for being like this.

Sorry but there’s no excuse for it.

Edited

I agree. It’s amazing how ND mothers seem to find a way whilst ND fathers fall by the wayside.

Mummyoftwinss23 · 18/01/2026 15:30

You’re not wrong to feel overwhelmed, but you are glossing over your own role here: you chose to re-enter work knowing your partner was already struggling, then seem surprised that the load shifted and exposed cracks that were always there. Parenting two under-5s is brutal, yes but framing the kids as “feral” and your husband as the sole problem avoids asking whether expectations, communication, and shared responsibility were ever honestly reset before you changed the family dynamic.

Aluna · 18/01/2026 15:32

I think I’d just spend the nanny money on a divorce lawyer. I’d rather my kids were around someone who doesn’t like parenting only half the time. You might even get EOW as it doesn’t sound like he would want or try for 50:50.

“Double helpings of love” doesn’t undo his inadequate parenting unfortunately so I would try to limit their exposure to him as far as possible.

xterde · 18/01/2026 15:32

I literally hated being a parent of two under 5,
small kids are so hard, I'm autistic also and I wonder if he's getting very overwhelmed with the way that young kids are not at all predictable. That's not me giving him an excuse, just that the solution might be rooted in that somehow. For me I'm a single parent so I had to get on with it but it was ROUGH. A routine and a schedule helped me and might be useful if he could come up with one? Unstructured time with my two when they were young always ended up in overwhelm and chaos. I literally felt like I could not think ant all and wanted to go and bury myself in a hole for the entire first 5 or so years of parenthood. Autism and small kids can be a difficult combination.