Man's girlfriend goes into labor during a visitation with him and his ex's 4-year-old son, he demands his ex pick up the child, then loses it when she refuses because she's been drinking: ‘It would be irresponsible of me to drive’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Oct 5, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

When one becomes a parent, they make a promise to the little one they've brought into the world, swearing that they will never put them in harm's way if they can help it. We all know that you cannot protect your child from everything, because we are not higher beings. However, all it takes is one selfish decision to put your child in danger… Luckily, the mother in the story you're about to read refuses to abide by her ex's demands.

The mother who shared this story explains that she had been drinking one night while her ex-partner had visitation with their 4-year-old son. This ex-partner now has a new partner, who is pregnant. Unluckily, this new partner goes into labor during his visitation period, so he calls the mother at random, demanding that she come pick up their son. Given that the mother had not prepared to be some on-call relief figure, she had a few drinks that evening. Obviously, she refuses to make the five-minute drive to get their son; why would she unnecessarily put her and her son's life in danger, especially when the father could make the drive, too?

It's really easy to make the right decisions in contrasting moments like these. The mother made the right decision, but this begs the question: Should the father face repercussions for even suggesting this? What do you think?

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • "I was not about to put my son or anyone else in danger..."
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "AITA for refusing to pick up my 4 year old from my ex?"

    I know how the title sounds, but hear me out. I have a 4 year old with my ex.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • Him and his girlfriend were expecting a baby any day now. It was around 12am on Saturday when he called me and asked me to pick up my son because his girlfriend was in labor.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I had no problem watching my son, but I had been drinking so I told him I wouldn't be able to pick him up and he needed to be dropped off.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • They live a 5 minute drive away from me. He argued with me and told me I needed to come and pick him up now, since she was in labor.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I explained I had been drinking and would not be driving to come get him because I did not feel safe driving myself, let alone with my 4 year old in the car.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • was perfectly capable of watching him, but he would need to be dropped off to me, since I had had a few drinks.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • He called me irresponsible and told me I shouldn't have been drinking so close to her due date.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • He never once told me her due date or that I should be available during his parenting time to pick him up in case she goes into labor.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I told him that while my 4 year old is my responsibility on my parenting time, his girlfriend and new baby were not my responsibility.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I also said it would be irresponsible of me drive after I'd had a few drinks.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I reiterated that I was willing to take him, but he needed to drop him off because I would not be driving since I'd had a few drinks.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • man angrily talking on the phone, shouting at the person on the other end of the call, sitting in a car
    via Vitaly Gariev for Unsplash

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • He started yelling at me over the phone to "get your a over here now". So I just hung up and sent him a text that I was home if he decided to drop him off.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • He ended up dropping him off and screaming at me in front of our 4 year old, so I took my son inside and locked the door.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • This whole argument took 30 minutes, while he could've just drove the 5 minutes and dropped him off and been on his way.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • I honestly feel sorry for the girlfriend for having to wait even longer to go to the hospital, but I was not about to put my son or anyone else in danger because he wanted me to drive while I'd been drinking.
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • So AITA for refusing to pick up my son?
    via Low-Salamander-5399
  • Remote-Cellist5927 NTA and he needed to work out this plan in detail BEFORE she went into labor.
    via Remote-Cellist5927
  • Objective_Attempt_14 Right like they only had Nine months.....
    via Objective_Attempt_14
  • MassiveAd4946 NTA- my DH and I had a baby in January and we both have full custody of a combined 4 other children. We had a plan, a backup plan, and I even offered my ex a makeup weekend in NOVEMBER in case his visitation MIGHT be interrupted by one of our plans. Never were our plans to call the other parent in the middle of the night and tell them to pick them up RIGHT NOW.
    via MassiveAd4946
  • Brisco un NTA. You did the repsonsible thing and while he might've been annoyed, he should be thankful that you were being an adult and not risking the life of your son over something like a 5 minute drive. Well played!
    via Brisco*un

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

family dynamics family drama pregnancy entitled parents entitlement labor reddit story family feud parenting entitled family reddit thread parent Reddit Parenting Fail parents children entitled people Parenting FAILS
Scroll Down For The Next Article