Father doesn't change his daughter's diaper for 9 hours because he's too busy playing video games

by Mark Bennett

January 03, 2023

Father doesn't change his daughter's diaper for 9 hours because he's too busy playing video games
Advertisement

When you get married, you choose to share your life with your partner and this sharing also means sharing chores. Fortunately, in most parts of the world, husbands and wives enjoy the same rights: both must contribute to the management and maintenance of family life and the raising of children. Yet, for one reason or another, this is not always the case. The subject of this story told Reddit how her husband "forgot" about his children while playing video games. Despite clearly being in the wrong, the husband had the audacity to take it out on his wife, accusing her of putting too much pressure on him.

via Reddit

Pexels / Not the actual photo

Pexels / Not the actual photo

The woman described the incident to Reddit users. She is a 35 year old nurse, and her husband works shifts, doing at least 3 nights a week; the couple have two daughters: a 6-month-old and a 6-year-old. Working night shifts, the husband often sleeps during the day, but still manages to do some household chores. Everything was going fine until the husband bought himself a PlayStation 5 and started playing during his free time. The wife described the change in her husband's behavior this way:

“He used to do some of the household chores, but now all he can do is say how tired he is and how much he needs to sleep. But he comes home from his shift and starts playing video games. He drinks a lot of coffee to stay focused and awake. On top of everything, he's stopped eating properly. He keeps forgetting to do the things I ask him to do, like help fix his daughter's toys or change the baby's diapers."

Advertisement
Pexels / Not the actual photo

Pexels / Not the actual photo

The woman was forced to ask her mother for help since she could no longer count on her husband's support, but he was not happy about this:

“He didn't like me asking anyone else for help and told me I shouldn't. He promised me he would start helping again. He said he would remember to do all the chores: feed the girls, change diapers, clean our kids room etc. He told me "don't worry", so I went to work".

On her return, however, the woman was devastated by what she found: her husband had moved their youngest daughter's cot into the living room so he could keep playing video games. The 6-month-old was crying and he couldn't understand why: but he had not changed her diaper all day. Their other daughter had also been left to fend for herself: she hadn't brushed her teeth, hadn't brushed her hair, etc. - all the things his wife had reminded him to do.

Pexels / Not the actual photo

Pexels / Not the actual photo

The woman was furious and vented her anger on Reddit: "Our baby had the same diaper on for 9 hours. He said he forgot about it, but was busy playing video games. I immediately took care of the diaper, of course. My 6 year old daughter's hair was a mess. The kitchen was a mess. I was livid and yelled at him for being selfish and for neglecting our kids in favor of playing stupid video games".

The husband accused his wife of overreacting and for not reminding him of his duties over the phone. He then stormed out and went to stay with his mother (who naturally defended her son and criticised her daughter-in-law):

“His mother called me saying my husband works at night to earn a living for his children and that I was pressuring him to do more than he could handle. I tried to explain the situation, but she kept lashing out at me, telling me that was picking on her son."

Users were not slow with advice, suggesting the woman seriously reevaluate her marriage. What do you think?

Advertisement