A man has revealed how he screamed at his neighbor’s toddler and went on to defend his actions for making the young boy cry.
Taking to Reddit, the father admitted that he acted ‘rudely’ but claimed that the toddler was ‘bullying’ his children and he wanted to stop it once and for all.
“Am I the a**hole for screaming at my neighbor’s toddler?” he wrote. “I have recently moved into a new neighborhood with my wife and our two kids (three-year-old boy and five-year-old girl).”
“The house was a great buy, and the neighbors have been, in general, very friendly. Since we moved in, however, my neighbor’s son (four-year-old boy) has been bullying my kids,” he continued.
The father explained that when they first moved into the neighborhood, his son started playing with the neighbor’s child.
“Ever since they first met, I had a bad feeling about this kid,” he said. “I heard some bad things from other parents about him being rude or downright mean to their children. Some of the children he had supposedly bullied were as old as ten. Reminder, this kid is four.”
The frustrated dad then shared the moment the neighbor’s son started bullying his children.
“The bullying against my children really started after my son was eating some cookies my wife had given him and didn’t share any with the kid. He threw a little fit and demanded his parents also give him cookies. After that, he made an enemy of my son,” he recalled.
“He would steal my daughter’s dolls. He would tear up our flowers. It came to a point where we had to install a lock on my gate to keep him out of our things.
“The day this incident happened, the kid climbed over our fence to get into our yard and wreak havoc. My daughter was playing in the yard, so I went out there to tell him to get lost. When I came outside, he started cussing me out. You wouldn’t believe the language this kid was using.”
The father said that he lost his temper with the young boy and started screaming at him.
“Looking back, it was pretty rude. I really shouldn’t have, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He began to cry but he went home,” he added.
Other parents in their neighborhood have been telling the father that he needed to apologize. “His parents won’t even talk to me, they’re so mad. So, am I the a**hole?”
Reddit users were quick to share their opinions on the situation, with one person writing: “I will make anyone cry that bullies my child. I stand with this man wholeheartedly.”
Another said: “Lesson well learned, I bet he leaves your property and kids alone now.”
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