Op can only control OP. Every poster that says DH should do better is not contributing to a solution. Of course he should, but if he was controllable or knew how, he already would have. |
Found the abusive DH. Men act like this because they feel that they can. They know that OP is trapped with them and leaving will be very difficult for her. |
I don’t think you are being totally honest in your questions, but I will say that it is not always easy to understand what is happening in the moment in these situations. So yes, maybe the better move would have been to take both kids, and OP knows that now. There is a big gray area of abusive behavior where you don’t think your DH is a monster who will shake the toddler to death but you also know that the behavior is not right. OP is figuring it out now and needs to be supported as she makes her contingency plans. |
You lose me at “OP’s contribution to this whole dynamic.” OP is not contributing to her DH being a d*ck. She is reacting to it and coping with it. She did not “contribute” to him acting that way. I’m not clear on what your overall take here is - that OP needs to walk on ever more fragile eggshells forever? or what? |
He probably won’t stop so OP should be giving up on the SAHM dream and get a job as the first step to independence. Is she willing to do that? |
She needs to make sure the toddler is more resilient and flexible in case the toddler’s father throws a tantrum and refuses to take the other child to the hospital. OK then! There are other reasons to ween and no disagreement here on bedtimes with different parents - but I hope you can see how deranged what you wrote is. |
NP and to be clear I think you're arguing in bad faith, but: yes. Men like this will not curse and scream at an injured child in front of a doctor or nurse. He will play hero dad at urgent care and the older kid will be safe. But since he has zero control over his emotions I would be much more nervous about leaving him with an inconsolable toddler who won't go to sleep since he thinks the whole night was a conspiracy against his comfort and control. |
Is her DH going to allow her to do that? |
When did the father say he wouldn’t put the toddler to bed? Control freak OP is the one saying only SHE can do it. She’s painted herself into a corner over a simple job. |
How is he going to stop her? |
Yes, this is not bad advice although I don’t blame OP for not getting it. She needs to internalize that when her DH acts like this he is reacting to the person he identifies as his enemy - which in this case would be her. if they both went to the ER he very well could turn his aggression on her (even risking CPS). But alone with the doctors he will feel like the hero and not attacked. Conversely, alone with a crying toddler that will not sleep, he could also start feeling attacked. My move probably would have been to take both the kids, because the fight necessary to get him to the hospital with the older kid would be too much. But OP could develop tactics to be more persuasive than I was able to be in emergencies. |
Still breastfeeding the toddler is a hint that OP is overdoing it with "motherly" duties and kind of a martyr over that. No need for that, if the situation is combustive. It's just not a wise spending of family time and energy.
OP, get a job and hire a nanny everyone will be happier |
What I mean is acting like a victim instead of taking action. She needs to walk on fewer eggshells, not more. I'm not understanding why you think I'm implying more. If she'd stood up and not taken it years ago, last night wouldn't have happened. She's more comfortable complaining than making hard decisions. |
Let me ask you this. Why in this scenario do you think it is self evident that OP should go to the hospital and DH should stay home? And why do you think the parents disagreement over how to split up these duties justifies getting angry at the child? How about the nosebleed incident? |
Do you have any actual life experience with this? I do. Sometimes, angry abusive men who have struggled to stay calm while parenting young children can get better if they are made to realize their behavior is abusive. The first step is not divorce. The steps are: 1. Talk to DH and be very frank about his behavior and the impact on the children and you 2. If he isn't immediately receptive to that, talk to a therapist for advice for talking to DH/protecting yourself and children 3. Talk to an attorney about legal options, which may include divorce but we all know that's not an ideal solution, it's a last resort when all else fails because it (1) either leaves kids without a dad or with tons of unsupervised time with an abuser and (2) will have serious financial implications for OP which will of course also impact the children. |