13-year-old lies about his mom having a new boyfriend so that his dad will take full custody of him, dad doesn't find out about lie until months later: 'She wasn't dating anyone and my son had lied about her mother no longer wanting him at home'

When I was a kid, I knew I could never say something to my mom without my dad finding out immediately after. It kind of stinks when you're a kid because sometimes you really want to complain about your mom to your dad without her finding out (and vice versa). You feel like you can never have a secret that is just between you and your parent.

Now that I'm an adult, I not only totally understand why my parents operated this way, but I'm very glad they did. It's not good to have secrets in your marriage, nor is it good to have a secret with your child that you're keeping from their parent. It's best to have everything out in the open within your marriage so you can take important steps together instead of navigating challenges on your own. What else is a marriage for if not sticking together?

Telling your partner everything is garden variety when you're married, but what about when you're divorced? Co-parenting presents unique challenges when it comes to communication, with a lot of divorced parents rendered unable to share basic details without a fight breaking out. That is how these parents have operated for far too long, and as you can see, it's having major negative consequences.
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AITA for punishing my son for a lie he told months ago?

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