Two spouses: a play

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

Candy and $67 of makeup! Buy it daddy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

WTF so they can say "what" but they can't actually shop and by it. Obviously. So more work for you.

Oh FFS, are you completely helpless?

"What do you want to get Simon for his birthday, Larlo?"

"Groot Legos!"

<Internet search, find Marvel Dancing Groot Lego for $35.99 on Amazon. Click "buy now.">

Damn, I'm never getting that minute of my life back. And now I'm so mentally exhausted I need a nap.

Jesus. You pathetic women.

If it’s so easy, why didn’t dad do it?

Because mom would criticize HOW he did it, in all likelihood.

So what? It's dad choice if he wants to let the criticism impact him. He doesn't have to listen to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will the play include a performance of the musical number “such a good dad” to accompany husbands presence at the ceremony for the child?

No that number is: “I’m a prop as are my kids”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I’m the actual poster that described the Monday request for a red dress on a Thursday. With respect to consequences, it depends. And I often opt out of this stuff entirely, because I don’t care about this kind of nonsense. My kid jokes with me about not being one of “those kinds of moms”, because I don’t care about this crap. My parenting style would probably be considered more paternal than maternal with respect to this stuff. I do ask her to tell me when participation in this kind of stuff is really important to her and sometimes it is. I try to accommodate that since she often doesn’t care about spirit day type stuff. It still adds up as an overall burden.

But sometimes there are consequences. For example, in 7th grade, my daughter was going on a field trip for Model UN (in Spanish since she is in immersion). We had an outfit picked, but the teacher told them on the Monday that there were very specific dress code requirements that had to be met by Thursday or they would get 10 points off their grade. We didn’t have anything in the house to meet this requirement and my daughter cares a lot about her grades so this involved a last minute panicked trip to the mall to find a freaking pantsuit for a 13 year old girl. I was pretty pissed about this one.

I will say that Spanish immersion does seem to be particularly prone to this. The teachers seem to be a lot more strict about grade point losses for not meeting a particular dress code. But I’ve seen it with choir, etc.

10 points off a grade is a consequence. And your daughter not wanting to lose 10 points matters.

How much this matters depends on the specifics and context. If the other spouse is maxed out on "needs", the panicked trip is what it is. Hopefully your spouse helped appeal this with the teachers boss.

Like I said in my earlier post, I have a very equitable marriage. But the posters who insist all of this is self imposed by women and ignoring the real constraint that men haven’t been raised to fully appreciate caregiving while we have created a society that generally needs 2 incomes to survive are either very naive or just want to be jerks on the internet. While the OP may have been silly in her construct, she isn’t wrong about how things work for most women in America.

I mostly agree.

This is all the more reason to know what is really necessary, and work with family to delegate. This does not sound like an issue for you.

Kids with two functional involved parents will be light years ahead of one solo parent doing everything. And obviously 1-2 dysfunctional or undermining “parents’” kids come in dead last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

Being the person who delegates is part of the mental load.

Why can't dad read his emails from the school and look at the party invite and figure out what needs to be done and delegate it? Why can't mom be the one who just follows orders and doesn't have to do any of the planning and organizing and delegating?

The reason why is because it's the hard part. Paying attention to all the dates and school requests and staying organized and remembering little details like that the blue shirt has to be long sleeve or the birthday kid likes dinosaurs is the hard part. And juggling it all without screwing something up.

This is why, for instance, a store manager usually makes a lot more than a cashier, and the store manager job requires more training and experience, and the cashier is completely replaceable. Because just standing there until someone tells you explicitly what to do is not actually hard. It's not nothing, but it's not hard. Being the person who has to figure out what needs to be done, figure out how best it should be accomplished, and then communicate those plans to a group of people is actually hard.

Amen!
Have you seen this?
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8U9nXm8/

[Anonymous]

But but but, think of all the things you can buy and do with my paycheck!
I do it all for you!
The kids can arrange their tutoring, find good basketball programs and trainers, wear the latest trends, and seek out a private college counselor.
See, I do it all for them. Then come home at 7pm and needs to sleep, relax, drink, don’t bother me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

Candy and $67 of makeup! Buy it daddy!

Is your husband incapable of using his brain? Or are you just the obnoxious controlling type who complains they have to do everything but anytime someone tries to take over, you complain that what they are doing isn't right. Most dads would know not to buy $67 of makeup for a gift. It may not be exactly what you would have bought...but that's ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

Being the person who delegates is part of the mental load.

Why can't dad read his emails from the school and look at the party invite and figure out what needs to be done and delegate it? Why can't mom be the one who just follows orders and doesn't have to do any of the planning and organizing and delegating?

The reason why is because it's the hard part. Paying attention to all the dates and school requests and staying organized and remembering little details like that the blue shirt has to be long sleeve or the birthday kid likes dinosaurs is the hard part. And juggling it all without screwing something up.

This is why, for instance, a store manager usually makes a lot more than a cashier, and the store manager job requires more training and experience, and the cashier is completely replaceable. Because just standing there until someone tells you explicitly what to do is not actually hard. It's not nothing, but it's not hard. Being the person who has to figure out what needs to be done, figure out how best it should be accomplished, and then communicate those plans to a group of people is actually hard.

This.

Too many dads want to be a useless Task Rabbit. Told what to do, when, and how each and every time it is convenient for them to make a Family Guy appearance.

[Anonymous]

I don’t care where they work, they all act like Homer Simpson with their home and family. Seen it so many times. Loving their willful ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

WTF so they can say "what" but they can't actually shop and by it. Obviously. So more work for you.

Oh FFS, are you completely helpless?

"What do you want to get Simon for his birthday, Larlo?"

"Groot Legos!"

<Internet search, find Marvel Dancing Groot Lego for $35.99 on Amazon. Click "buy now.">

Damn, I'm never getting that minute of my life back. And now I'm so mentally exhausted I need a nap.

Jesus. You pathetic women.

I'm not the one adding it to my list of "mental work". OP was. And it's not nothing since you just listed the steps to procure it. All those steps add up all day long for any number of things. Are you sure you have kids? Or maybe you just have one.

I have kids. I'm just better at parenting than you, obviously.

"Mental load" is a load of bullshit.

Bullshit is right. Your "kids" are probably grown and out of the house. I don't believe a word you're saying.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain. [/quote]

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”[/quote]

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate [/quote]

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that. [/quote]

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF. [/quote]

WTF so they can say "what" but they can't actually shop and by it. Obviously. So more work for you.[/quote]

Oh FFS, are you completely helpless?

"What do you want to get Simon for his birthday, Larlo?"

"Groot Legos!"

<Internet search, find Marvel Dancing Groot Lego for $35.99 on Amazon. Click "buy now.">

Damn, I'm never getting that minute of my life back. And now I'm so mentally exhausted I need a nap.

Jesus. You pathetic women.[/quote]

If it’s so easy, why didn’t dad do it?[/quote]

Because mom would criticize HOW he did it, in all likelihood. [/quote]

So what? It's dad choice if he wants to let the criticism impact him. He doesn't have to listen to it.[/quote]

I grew up with a mom who criticized how everyone did everything and then complained that she had to do everything. It's incredibly toxic. Take some responsibility for yourself and your own toxic behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

Being the person who delegates is part of the mental load.

Why can't dad read his emails from the school and look at the party invite and figure out what needs to be done and delegate it? Why can't mom be the one who just follows orders and doesn't have to do any of the planning and organizing and delegating?

The reason why is because it's the hard part. Paying attention to all the dates and school requests and staying organized and remembering little details like that the blue shirt has to be long sleeve or the birthday kid likes dinosaurs is the hard part. And juggling it all without screwing something up.

This is why, for instance, a store manager usually makes a lot more than a cashier, and the store manager job requires more training and experience, and the cashier is completely replaceable. Because just standing there until someone tells you explicitly what to do is not actually hard. It's not nothing, but it's not hard. Being the person who has to figure out what needs to be done, figure out how best it should be accomplished, and then communicate those plans to a group of people is actually hard.

Right?
“Hey there, sweet husband, I’m willing to take some things off your plate. Just give me a list of what clothes the kids need and their sizes, and let me know if anyone needs a birthday present, and I will get on Amazon and buy it! Please let me know at least a week ahead of time! I’m so glad that I can help YOU!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drop the rope and let the house of cards fall.

The kids can be losers who are late, don’t have the right gear, don’t know what’s going on or what they’re missing. Whatever.

And if they’re old enough, one poster said get them an IPhone so they can run the house and their schedule themselves. That’ll surely work for an 8, 10,12,14, or 16 yo!

Pretty much

Delinquent dads have a negative effect on their children for a long time. Even worse when they all live in the same house are are neglectful, ignorant and delinquent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

WTF so they can say "what" but they can't actually shop and by it. Obviously. So more work for you.

Oh FFS, are you completely helpless?

"What do you want to get Simon for his birthday, Larlo?"

"Groot Legos!"

<Internet search, find Marvel Dancing Groot Lego for $35.99 on Amazon. Click "buy now.">

Damn, I'm never getting that minute of my life back. And now I'm so mentally exhausted I need a nap.

Jesus. You pathetic women.

If it’s so easy, why didn’t dad do it?

Because mom would criticize HOW he did it, in all likelihood.

So what? It's dad choice if he wants to let the criticism impact him. He doesn't have to listen to it.

Exactly. Dads are know for buying whatever garbage any kids wants online, on demand.

Once the kids catch on— age 8 usually- that their dad is asleep at the wheel and more than willing to trade $$$$ and material goods for “parenting,” it’s no holds barred what he will buy online asap for his kids when asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Act 1
A happy family, one husband, one wife and three lovely children. Child A has a holiday performance on Thursday morning and needs to wear a “green Christmas sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers” per teacher instructions. Child 2 has Christmas caroling at the old people’s home on Friday and needs a red dress and plate of cookies. Child 3 is receiving an award for a speech on Friday also, and will be needing a birthday present for friend’s party that same afternoon. Wife takes care of all of these things noiselessly, on top of regular work. She also lets husband know where to be on performance and award day.
Act 2
Husband: shows up.
Act 3
Society: why do women complain about mental labor? It’s a fiction that only exists in their hysterical imaginations and they invent tasks to do because they are hysterical.

Curtain.

All of these things being … picking out some clothing, getting some cookies and a birthday present? That … sounds … exhausting? Is that what my takeaway is here?

At any point was there some discussion in the family? “Larla, find a green shirt. Marla, get your read dress. Darla, pick out a present on Amazon. Honey, can you pick up some snickerdoodles on the way home?”

Right. I definitely feel like a child writing and receiving an award for a speech is capable of getting a birthday present and saying dad my show is on x day and time be there.
Alot of this mental load stuff is being a parent and the struggle is created by the need for rigid control, and refusal to delegate

What kid is getting a birthday present? Do you allow your kids to surf your Amazon account and make their own purchases? Because most people don't want their kids to do that.

Yes, my children are capable of saying what they want to give their friends for birthday presents. WTF.

WTF so they can say "what" but they can't actually shop and by it. Obviously. So more work for you.

Oh FFS, are you completely helpless?

"What do you want to get Simon for his birthday, Larlo?"

"Groot Legos!"

<Internet search, find Marvel Dancing Groot Lego for $35.99 on Amazon. Click "buy now.">

Damn, I'm never getting that minute of my life back. And now I'm so mentally exhausted I need a nap.

Jesus. You pathetic women.

If it’s so easy, why didn’t dad do it?

Because mom would criticize HOW he did it, in all likelihood.

So what? It's dad choice if he wants to let the criticism impact him. He doesn't have to listen to it.

Dads like that don’t give two F’s so criticizing his poor judgment or age inappropriateness or lack of safety with the kids just rolls down the narc’s back and fuels his need for control via stonewalling.