Empowered Mom Takes Charge: “I Canceled My Family Trip Due to My Sons’ Misbehavior”

A tired mom went online to vent about her failed family vacation. The post rapidly became viral, with over 4,2k comments. Most people agreed with the mom’s decision, but it was a vivid discussion. Let’s understand why.

The parents have three kids together

The author of the post, identified as vacationslayer238, and her husband have three kids together: two boys and a girl. She mentioned that the boys have been fighting nonstop, but her husband actively decided that going on a vacation was a good idea.

Their sons’ misbehavior started in the car and kept going

“The 3.5-hour car ride was (predictably) hell. The boys were fighting and riling each other up the whole time. Husband and I kept trying to reassure each other that things would be better,” she said. But it didn’t. The kids put shoes on white furniture, ran inside the house, and even at the restaurant, they were out of control.

And she continued, “We finally go to the beach, and they are frankly being brats. Refusing sunscreen. Fighting over toys. Pushing their luck repeatedly, going farther and farther out in the water than we told them to. Cursing.”

She then decided to go home

She was tired and fed up by the time they got to the rental house. “They were totally ruining it for everybody,” she remembers. She then told her husband they all needed to go back home to teach them about the real consequences.

“My husband still insisted it would get better. I put my foot down and told him that I didn’t even want to be there at that point, so either I was leaving, or we all were. He got super pissed and told me it was ridiculous and unfair to our daughter,” she said. Although she agreed with his point, she saw no other way out.

Her husband and mother didn’t agree

Her mother was with them and also didn’t agree with her daughter’s decision. She told her that she only agreed to come along to spend time with her grandkids and that she had ruined their moment together.

The ride home was difficult, “Half the ride home was spent with them sobbing, and my husband pretty much gave me the silent treatment the whole way.”

But people on the internet praised her decision

• Momma, you should take your littlest one for a “girl’s night out” and let the dad and grandma deal with the boys. Or, offer separate trips. Betcha, they’ll be talking about implementing discipline by the time you get back. sinny_sphynx / Reddit
• Consistent consequences every single time is the only way to change this. These kids know that there will be no consequences. BlazingSunflowerland / Reddit
• Punishing the boys is the right message to send to the daughter, also. And not punishing the boys immediately would be sending the exact WRONG message to all the kids, male and female. North_Badger6101 / Reddit
• Kids need consequences, and it sounds as though your husband and mother have been too inclined to give them “one more chance.” If you ever need to say to them again, “Stop that, or we’re going home,” they’ll know you mean it. IntrovertedBookMan / Reddit

There’s no doubt that this mother is working hard to discipline her kids. In fact, we can all agree that being a mom is like having two jobs. We hope that the decision of going back home helped her kids understand actions have consequences.