Mom Dragged for Telling Husband Not to Go Out Before Son's Birthday

A woman has been dragged online after she explained how she expected her husband not to go out the night before their son's birthday.

In a post on the popular discussion site Mumsnet, user FluffyWorm explained how her son's 6th birthday was coming up, but she was concerned because her husband's annual work party would be the night before.

"Usually when my husband goes out the next day will be a write off," said the woman who asked if she was being unreasonable to expect him not to go to the event.

"Our son will be up early and want to open presents straight away with both of us," she explained.

The woman said she was worried that her husband would be too hungover to enjoy the festivities, writing: "They will probably drink until 4 am. I don't think he will be able to get up on the morning of his birthday due to the hangover."

Sheina Schochet, a licensed therapist and founder of Love After Baby, told Newsweek: "Every couple will have unique problems, depending on their circumstances, though there will be similar themes. For parents, issues around evening plans are a common one that pops up.

"Prior to having kids, one partner might not be thrilled that the other is going out for a late night, but then they can use that time to meet up with their own friends or for a solo self-care night," said Schochet. "It feels like a bigger deal when there is a kid in the picture because now the thought is along the lines of 'He's going out and enjoying himself with no responsibility, while I'm stuck at home with the baby... and he'll probably be too tired to help me tomorrow, so I'll be the only one dealing with the morning routine.'"

Online, the majority of replies suggested that the mom was being unreasonable and should let her husband relax and celebrate for the night.

"It's the night before, not the day. I can't see the issue. If he's a bit hungover during the present opening, he'll get over it," said one poster.

Another Mumsnet user wrote: "Just make your son wait a bit to get his birthday present, 6:30 am is ridiculous. It's not like Christmas."

"It seems that for this couple the dad going out, staying out late, getting drunk and being checked out the next day is a point of contention," said Schochet, who suggested that the couple open communication about the issue.

"For this one time, it's important for the mom to communicate in a calm and loving way that their son's birthday morning is a really important time and that they need to come up with a plan as a team to make this work for everyone," she explained.

"For the future, the couple has to have a conversation about the frequency and 'intensity' of these nights out. For the mom to turn a blind eye but feel upset inside isn't helpful to anyone and can lead to a lot of resentment—a relationship killer."

Other commenters on Mumsnet agreed that the parents should have a conversation about the issues. One said: "It's not fair to make a young child wait until lunchtime to open presents as daddy can't control his drink and will be lying on his pit until lunchtime."

"He needs to not drink alcohol which is a choice and one that is easy to make as it's the child's birthday the next day," said another reply.

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.