A woman got in trouble for “kidnapping” her grandson whom she had never met.
After her daughter said she “took” her 3-year-old grandson and wouldn’t talk to his parents, the woman was criticized.
The original poster, known as u/Open Worldliness 732, wrote about the situation on Reddit’s popular “Am I The A**hole” forum, where it got more than 17,800 upvotes and 1,200 comments.
Family abductions happen when a parent or other family member takes a child, usually under the age of 6, without the guardian’s permission or knowledge.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that most family kidnappings are done by a parent who wants to stop another guardian from having custody of the child or seeing the child.
It is thought that family abductions made up more than 60% of all AMBER alerts sent out in 2020, and that they made up about 5% of all reports of missing children in 2020.
Many people think that a child is safe when they are with their parent, but research has shown that family abductions can have negative effects on the child victim and their family, such as emotional distance, a sense of being betrayed, and problems with trust.
“An ordinary narcissist”
In the blog post titled “AITA for not stopping saying my mother stole my son?” The 32-year-old woman said she moved to her husband’s country about five years ago and had a son three years ago.
She said that her controlling 52-year-old mother is a “typical narcissist” who didn’t want her to move out of the country.
She didn’t get to meet her son until recently because her mother’s husband was sick and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She often says that she was “cheated” out of “special time” with her first grandson.
Even though the woman didn’t want her mother to come visit, her husband persuaded her that it would be good for their son to know her.
“Well, she started complaining as soon as she got here—our house is too small, the garden is in the way, etc.,” the post said. “She said that because my son doesn’t speak much English, she can’t talk to him. She was upset that my son didn’t want to hug her and instead wanted to stay with his paternal grandmother.”
When the woman’s son spilled a drink during the visit, his mother “shouted” at him. When she told her they are taking a “gentle approach” to parenting, she “lost it” and said she had “no idea how to raise a kid.”
“I told her she could leave if she didn’t follow my rules. She stopped, but you could tell she was angry for the rest of the day “the message said.
“I Called the Cops”
The next morning, early in the morning, the woman was up with her son and said that her husband had stomach problems. When she saw that her husband didn’t have his medicine, she ran to the pharmacy, leaving her son and husband sleeping on the couch.
“I was gone for 20 minutes, and when I came back, my mother’s rental car and my son were gone, but my husband was still sleeping,” the post said. “He was just as surprised as I was that they’d left. I called my mother’s phone, but there was no answer. After 45 minutes of me getting more and more crazy, I called the police. They came very quickly, and when I told them what had happened, they took it seriously.”
Six hours later, the woman’s mother came back to the house and told the police that the woman was allowed to take the boy out for the day.
“I’m six months pregnant, and she said it must be pregnancy brain, which the police seemed to agree with,” the post said.
She said that the police acted like the problem was over because her son was safe at home. But when the police left, the woman told her mother to leave the house and that she never wanted to see her again.
‘AITA?’ “
“He began telling his family. I kicked her out for no reason, and she can’t find a hotel. When they blew up my phone, I told them she had taken my son “the message said.
She also told them that she plans to report this to the police and that people are now calling her an a**hole because she said her son was taken by his loving grandmother on a day trip.
Some family members also told her that “this kind of accusation” could hurt her mother’s career as a nurse.
In an update, the woman said that the police had talked to her mother and told her that if her mother went to the house, it would be considered harassment and the police would “act” while they looked into the claims.
Responses from Redditors
More than 1,200 people commented on the post, and many of them said the woman’s mother should have known what she did was the definition of kidnapping.
“Kidnapping is when someone takes a child away from their legal guardian without their permission or a good reason. That is the very definition of what your mom did, “one person replied. “She took your child by definition. Like, a lot of laws say you can’t do that. It should affect how she does her job as a nurse. There are rules about why nurses can’t take people hostage.”
“NTA. Also, you should file charges and get a restraining order because things are only going to get worse “someone else spoke up. “A small child was taken, and this should be taken as seriously as possible.”
“It really doesn’t matter what these people think. By leaving, you were able to get away from all the bad things. Cut off all contact with the kidnapper and anyone who helps her, “someone else spoke up.
“You are NTA. Your mom did take your son, and it’s likely not the first time she’s done something like that. This could be a test to see if she can help your son leave the country “Someone else said something. “Do not let her visit you again. If your son has a passport, keep it locked up. You might also look into whether you can get an order of protection that says your mother can’t come near you or your children.”
“I would have been a mess. She took your child and left your house. She didn’t ask for permission or leave a note “someone else spoke up. “Your poor son probably doesn’t know her and was probably scared. Can’t she find a place to stay? Her problem. Because of what she did, you kicked her out of your house.”
More Popular Posts
In other posts that went viral from Reddit’s popular “Am I The A**hole” forum, a man was praised for defending his wife after she cursed out his mother, and a woman was supported for not wanting her fiancé’s mother to act like her son’s grandparent.
Another woman got in trouble because she spent more on her granddaughter than on her grandson.
