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"AITA for not making my kids attend their half and stepsiblings birthdays?:
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The first red flag is the kids hating being around their father. At the end of the day, just because somebody becomes a parent doesn't mean they wanted to, which is what it seems like here. The kids likely never felt like a priority since their father got up and chose another family, then another one after that. The mother even explains that his demeanor is not one to write home about, which further validates why the kids might not want to buddy-buddy with an unnecessary extension of their family.
Even if the step/half siblings have done nothing wrong, the kids don't owe anyone anything. It was their life that got flipped upside down, not their father's. And if their father is feeling guilty, maybe there's a reason for that. The parental manipulation is real.
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The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
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The father uses the pain of his bio kids and step children to prove a point to his other bio kids. That's a mouthful. The mother knows better than to stoop to the same level as her ex-husband, and luckily, her kids are old enough to understand that they don't owe anything to their father. Who knows? The father might have his best interest at heart, and simply using his other children as pawns in this visitation game.
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Mother of 14-year-old and 16-year-old support her kids' decision to steer clear of their estranged father, his girlfriend, and their half/step-siblings: ‘I need to protect my kids’
Divorce isn't easy, especially when the cause of the split is infidelity. No one wants to believe that their spouse is capable of this type of betrayal, but crazier things happen every day. When the split is finalized, if both parents are deemed fit, custody is split 50/50 unless stated otherwise. Though this is the common procedure in marital court, kids do have a say in if they get to see one of their parents or not.
The mother who posted this story supports her kids' decision to leave their father, his girlfriend, and their multiple half and step-siblings in the dust. The kids' father cheated on their mother and the mother explains that he made little to no effort in fostering a healthy relationship with the kids after the split. It appears he is an unstable, unreliable person and the teen kids can see that clearly. So, when they try to mend the relationship with him through therapy and he no-shows one too many times, their minds are made up.
Given the inconsistency in his parenting and overall presence, the kids refuse to see their step/half siblings for their birthdays. The mother fully supports this, stating they have no reason to do something they don't want to do. Their father was not happy about that, to say the least. Scroll below to read the entire story and additional advice from commenters about the situation.
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