Remember the "BBC dad," a commentator who was interrupted on-air by his children? The segment went viral back in 2017 and has become even more relevant now, as parents all over the globe have been working more or exclusively from home. It's not only difficult for parents trying to do a conference call or Zoom meeting but for their partners, as well, as evidenced by a recent Am I the A–hole subreddit post. A beleaguered mom took to the social media site to lament her inability to keep her toddler out of her husband's office as long as he continues to fail to close the door.
The original poster (OP) shared that her husband is working from home right now, and they live in a townhouse.
"On our main living level, we have the living room, the bathroom directly opposite, and between the living room and bathroom, there's the door to our office space," wrote the OP. "Whenever I need the toilet, I have to do a precursory check to make sure dear husband (DH) has shut the office door, so dear son (DS) doesn't just wander in. Let me tell you, toddlers are sneaky fast."
The OP noted that she ends up wrangling her son, shutting doors, and making background noises as she tries to keep her child out of the way.
"My husband has complained about these noises, and every time I have told him to keep his door closed when he is working, and there won't be any issues," she wrote.
Most recently, the door was open, and their son went into the office while the OP's husband was on a conference call.
"DH storms in saying he's on a call, and I need to have a better handle on our son when he's at work because he could get into trouble for not being professional," wrote the OP. "I told him that it's his problem and he needs to keep his door shut from here on out because we've already been tiptoeing round the house for the past 4 months, and he's had 4 months to learn how to shut doors."
The OP wrote that she feels she and her husband are now at an impasse and wondered if she's in the wrong.
Redditors quickly jumped in to reassure the mom that she isn't the one at fault.
"Your husband so funny. He leaves his office door open and thinks it's your fault a toddler wanders in? I don't know how you make him less of an idiot, but I know you're not the [expletive]," wrote one commenter.
Another noted, "I can't believe you've put up with tip toeing around your own house for so long. Tell hubs that if he won't close his door, he's going to have to deal with noise. Your home is your home, not a library. It's his choice."
A third asked what the husband says when asked why he doesn't shut the door. The OP's reply: "He forgets. He also forgets to flush the toilet, but that's a completely different AITA thread."
One Redditor made the point that it's absurd for the husband to act like this during a global pandemic when so many parents are in the same boat.
"Does your husband think he's the only person in the world right now with kids running about the house whilst they're trying to work?" the commenter wrote. "This morning, I took a conference call with two kids in the other room arguing loudly about who stole the last ice cream and a toddler jumping on me every five seconds because he needed to make sure that my testicles were getting enough of a tenderizing. It's called 'life.' Tell him to put his big boy pants on and say hello to his son from time to time. Then tell him to shut the [expletive] door."
To that, the OP replied, "Most of the time when I pop my head round the door to ask if he is ready for a cup of coffee, he's actually playing games on his home computer, with his work computer screen just idling."
Here's hoping the OP is sufficiently reassured that not only has she done nothing wrong, but it's also time to call her husband out on his BS.
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