10-month-old baby takes his first steps, stay-at-home mom hides it from her working husband because he's sad about missing milestones: 'He’s mentioned a couple times that he’s gonna miss his first steps, and now he just did.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Aug 1, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

What would you do if you were in her situation? 

Would you lie to your spouse in order not to hurt their feelings? A lot of marriages are built on a foundation of never rocking the boat, and that can be disastrous when the truth comes out. I don't know about y'all, but I would be more upset if my partner was lying to spare my feelings than if they had just told me the truth in the first place. Telling the truth might not always be easy, but it can save you from a lot of heartbreak down the road. 

Not all partners feel they have to tell each other literally everything to trust each other. They don't want the other person to detail their entire relationship history, because they don't think the details of their past relationships are relevant to their current one. Not telling your partner everything isn't necessarily lying, but there are some cases where withholding the truth is worse. If you don't know that your wife has an ex-husband, that's pretty severe not to disclose. 

The wife in this story is considering withholding information about her son's developmental milestones from her husband because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. She took to Reddit to ask other parents' advice, and people seem pretty split on the issue.

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  • A baby takes his first steps while his father is at work, much to the chagrin of his mother, who doesn't want her husband to feel bad about missing out on milestones.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A baby takes his first steps while his father is at work, much to the chagrin of his mother, who doesn't want her husband to feel bad about missing out on milestones.

    The image is representative of the situation described. 

  • My baby just took his first steps and I don’t think I’m gonna tell anyone

    My baby is 10 months old today and he just walked for the first time. He took a solid 4 steps before toppling over
    via u/pollywantaproblem
  • I'm a SAHM and my husband works a lot. He's been getting pretty down about missing stuff with our kid.
    via u/pollywantaproblem
  • Dad sulks about missing out on his son's milestones because he works full-time and isn't at home as much as his wife, who is a stay-at-home mom
    via Guillaume Issaly (Unsplash+)

    Dad sulks about missing out on his son's milestones because he works full-time and isn't at home as much as his wife, who is a stay-at-home mom

    The person in this picture is a model.

  • He's mentioned a couple times that he's gonna miss his first steps and now he just did. I'm so excited but I also feel sad for him. I think I'm just gonna keep this a secret from everyone. I'll try to
    via u/pollywantaproblem
  • get baby to walk more tonight after husband is home and just let him think that's the first steps. Has anyone else done this? Am I being dramatic or should I just tell him the truth?
    via u/pollywantaproblem
  • bethybonbon I'm pretty sure that this is an unspoken rule in daycare? Like, if the childcare provider witnesses first steps no she didn't. -
    via u/bethybonbon
  • A daycare teacher who won't tell their students' parents if their children meet milestones because she doesn't want them to feel like they're missing out on their children's childhoods.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A daycare teacher who won't tell their students' parents if their children meet milestones because she doesn't want them to feel like they're missing out on their children's childhoods.

    The individuals in this photograph are not the real people in the story.

  • babykittiesyay "Little Billy might be getting ready to walk! Watch for it at home this weekend!"
    via u/babykittiesyay
  • ThoreauAweighBcuzDuh 100%. I witnessed my little brother's first steps, but I told my dad and stepmom he "almost walked" and "we should try to get him to take some steps!" as soon as they got home. I was lucky enough to be there for all of my kids' first steps (which isn't guaranteed even if you're a stay at home parent!), but that's exactly what I would want anyone to do for me with my own kids if I missed it.
    via u/ThoreauAweighBcuzDuh
  • clementineyeah I diet-lied about our daughter's first steps to my husband. She had been walking with her little push walker pretty confidently for DAYS. He kept saying "I just know she's gonna take off running as soon as I leave for work today." And my god, he was so right. Less than 30 minutes after he left for work, I hear an unfamiliar tap-tap-tap and look down and she's halfway to me, push walker abandoned.
    via u/clementineyeah
  • We had a private celebration and she did it a couple more times throughout the day. Dad came home and I immediately put her down next to her walker, then called him to me in the kitchen, in her full view, to have a conversation. She wasted no time tap-tap-tapping over to him and yelling "DADAAAAAA" and he swept her off her feet and they celebrated. He looked over to me and asked how many time she'd done that today. I shrugged and said "Walked across the room to get to her Dada? Just once." He to
    via u/clementineyeah
  • West-Beach4867 I saw my daughter take her first few steps just like this. I kept it to myself for the same reasons. Later that evening when my husband was home, she did it again except instead of like 4 steps she walked all the way across the living room. So it was a BIG deal! We both got really excited and all I said was "that is the furthest she has gone - how cool!" It was the right move. There was no way I was going to ruin the excitement for him by saying "oh she already walked earlier and
    via u/West-Beach4867
  • Minimum-Divide2589 I think it depends on the person. You know your spouse best. I personally would want to know but it's clear that many people wouldn't. Another possible option for future firsts is to try and capture them on video or even just a pic after the fact so the spouse that isn't there at the time can still witness it in a way.
    via u/Minimum-Divide2589
  • FastCar2467 As a working parent, I had to reframe it as it's the first for me. I know it's not the same, but that made it a little better.
    via u/FastCar2467
  • Bramble3713 I am the working parent and I missed her first steps, it bummed me out, but I think I'd be more upset if I found out my partner lied to me about it. The "false" memory of seeing your kids first steps will sour the whole thing for him I think. While it does s k that he missed it, just tell him that baby took a couple of hesitant steps and that you want the two of you to encourage him together to take some more confident steps together.
    via u/Bramble3713
  • vnessastalks I recorded the moment right after and sent it to my husband. Made him so happy he showed all his coworkers.
    via u/vnessastalks
  • crazymom7170 Yes my son said mama a few times but his first words in front of his dad were dada so therefore his first words were dada.
    via u/crazymom7170

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stay at home mom baby crazy things parents say wife working steps parenting first steps husband dad walking milestone mom parents
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