AITAH for telling my SIL she could have k***ed her kid?
A Reddit user recounts a disturbing incident with her sister-in-law, who allegedly left her 8-month-old baby in dangerous conditions. When the OP intervened to ensure the baby’s safety, tensions erupted. The sister-in-law accused her of being dramatic, but the situation escalated with a call to 911. Read the full story below.
‘ AITAH for telling my SIL she could have k***ed her kid?’
my SIL is a horrible mom. my husband and i have petitioned for custody of him but it’s messy due to the fact that we are now fighting for custody over the kid against both his parents. the other night she almost k***ed him and got mad at me for pointing it out. i’ll start with this, she doesn’t want or like her kid.
she won’t hold him, watch him, play with him, or spend any time with him. she pretends to parent him around her new boyfriend but when she’s alone she won’t even look at the kid. it probably has something to do with the fact that she’s recently divorced from his dad that she absolutely hated but stayed with for god only knows what reason.
the other night she picked up the kid from her ex husbands house then left the kid in the car in the cold with his door open and came inside and yelled for someone to go get him because she didn’t feel like carrying him.
her boyfriend got up and asked where to put the kid who was asleep in the car seat. she said “just d**p him in his room”. those were her exact words. so her boyfriend put him in there and then they went to lay down in another room.
about 45 minutes later i asked my husband to check on the kid, he’s 8 months old and he was asleep in the car seat with blankets over him which isn’t exactly the safest idea so i just asked him to look in the room and make sure he was alive. my husband went in and found our nephew asleep and barely breathing in the car seat on the floor.
the poor baby was in his seat with two onesies on (a long sleeve cotton one under a long sleeve fuzzy one), with a jacket and a blanket on him and the seat had a blanket draped over it. on top of this his seat was facing a space heater that was set at 85°F.
there was a towel on the heater that was burning on the metal causing the room to get smoky but there’s no smoke detector so we had no clue. the baby was having a hard time breathing in the hot, smoky, room. additionally his head slumped down making it even harder to breathe.
my husband ran out of the room with him then started taking the babies multiple layers of clothes off. his face was bright red and his lips were pale. he yelled for me to come look before he called 911. i yelled for my SIL and she came in calm, rolled her eyes, and said we were exaggerating because we’re petitioning for custody. i lost it.
i yelled at her and told her she could have k***ed her kid and that she should’ve put him in his crib and checked on him. my husband put the burnt towel in the sink and took the heater out of the room. i told SIL she needs to take the baby to the hospital and she told me no.
so i called my lawyer who told me to call 911 since the mom won’t take the baby who clearly was having breathing issues and overheating and so it’s documented that this happened so that’s what i did.
the paramedics came and gave him oxygen and told SIL it’s not safe for the baby to sleep like that and that the room was too hot for the baby to be in. she cussed me out and said i was dramatic and told me she doesn’t want me near the kid. so.. aitah?
Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:
Secret_Sister_Sarah − NTA and thank god you called 911, the paramedics gave him oxygen (proving that yes, in fact, he needed emergency attention because of her criminal negligence,) and this is therefore all on record.
If the courts don’t grant you custody ASAP for the sake of this baby’s life, then there’s more wrong with the system than I thought…
Some people should never have kids. Some people who had kids who shouldn’t have had kids should be in prison for trying to freeze to d**th, then burn to d**th, the kids they regret having.
Thatsmyname713 − You need to get emergency custody asap! That baby is going to get hurt if he’s left with her if not worse.
CakeisaDie − NTA. Keep your fight going. A bit confused tho why not your SIL’s ex husband? I’d be aiming for sole custody with your SIL’s ex husband for the betterment of the child.
Additional_Way1346 − The hospital should have called CPS. That baby may suffer more medical and permanent problems if left in her hands. If they didn’t call you should.
Strict-Material7983 − Sounds like she was trying to induce fatal distress in the infant. How appalling, take the kid from her and pursue criminal charges because what she did is attempted infanticide.
NTA. I don’t care if she has postpartum or some other form of depression. This woman is both psychotic and unhinged if she thinks this is being blown out of proportion.
Sol-Kutnerr − NTA, you did the right thing. That situation was dangerous for the baby, and you were just trying to protect him.
-Matata- − NTA. NTA. NTA! Someone needs to take that baby from her NOW. I really really hope you get custody. His life, if he makes it long under her care, will only get worse. She only wants to keep him to save her rep.
What’s best for the baby is that he is taken out of her care. I was def get CPS involved if you haven’t already. Furthermore, if you find him like that again, or anything, heartbreaking as it may be in the moment, take photos real quick.
Document everything. God, I hope you can get him. I’m so sorry to hear this. it is heartbreaking. Someone should strap her down and heat blast her for a good long while, see how she gets on.
LTK622 − NTA. You’ll be banned, but make sure other relatives know to call 911 if needed. And anybody can make a report to CPS at any time.
Hopefully the kid survives long enough for the wheels of justice to get something done.
1lilqt − I hope you guy recorded everything, that shows she doesn’t give a s**t. It can’t be your word against hers…. documentary evidence of every interaction!!!! NO JOKE.
Flaky-Ad-3265 − Perhaps I misunderstood, but I don’t understand why you let the baby continue to be in the car seat if you knew it was a dangerous situation
Was the OP right to involve emergency services in this situation, or did she overstep her bounds as a family member? How would you handle such a sensitive and alarming scenario? Share your opinions and experiences below!