Things got quite controversial on Reddit when one mom posted a question about her child’s upcoming birthday party. The woman asked for the community’s opinion after deciding that her second-grade daughter didn’t have to include a nonverbal autistic child on the party invite list.
“My daughter is in the second grade, her birthday is coming up and we have a pool party planned at our park district for her birthday with her classmates,” she begins. “One student in her class, let’s call him Tyler, is nonverbal autistic.”
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According to the mom, her child expressed that she wished to exclude the young boy from her party. “She ended up choosing the whole class, but my daughter, as respectfully as a second grader could be, asked me if it was okay if Tyler did not receive an invite.”
“She said he’s barely in her class and doesn’t really know anyone, and it might be tough for him to be at a pool party,” the mom continued. After much deliberation, the parents agreed and the child was left off of the guest list.
Mom Lets Daughter Exclude a Boy with Autism From Her Birthday Party
“I talked to my husband about this and we ended up deciding that she does not have to invite him. She has to give out her invitations through [the] mail, however, because I do not want him seeing her giving invitations out.” When the woman brought this up with her coworkers, they were quick to say that this was cruel behavior.
“A coworker told me I made a huge mistake by ‘teaching my daughter that it’s okay to exclude those who are different.’” Now she is asking the Reddit community, “Am I the a**hole?”
Most responses had strong words for the mama and confirmed that she is, in fact, teaching her child that it is ok to exclude someone just because they are different. “It’s not your place to assume that a pool party would be tough for him. Too many children with different needs spend their childhoods being left out,” commented one user.
It’s unclear if the mom ultimately changed her mind, and used that moment to teach her daughter a lesson. Let’s just hope the mom listened up and extended that invitation ASAP!