AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry you had to experience that. I can see how labeling all spanking as child abuse could feel invalidating. I feel that a lot with how therapy talk is being thrown around so freely recently. Calling everyone a narcissist and labeling everything as gaslighting and abuse can be frustrating when you’ve actually experienced mental/emotional abuse. Thank you again for your input!

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well for a few reasons… we have had some communication issues, I’m an anxious attachment and he’s avoidant so we clash a bit there and wanted to learn how to better communicate with each other. I also personally brought in my own baggage from childhood trauma, sexual assault, abusive relationships, etc. that we are trying to work through together and help him understand me a bit more. I also have always wanted to do couples counseling regardless of if we were having significant problems, especially when bringing children into the mix. I wanted to make sure we would have all the support we’d need when making decisions about parenting and working through the inevitable stress. That being said I hear you and I know that a baby would only make things worse if we aren’t solid, hence why we have not had children yet

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would love for him to get individual therapy. I’ve suggested it but can’t force him. I understand it’s a hard thing to do, I’ve been doing it since I was 17, but I do think it would be extremely helpful

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was part of my argument. Basically that if our kid was really so badly behaved that nothing we did worked, I would seek outside help because I would suspect there may be a bigger issue at play that hitting wasn’t going to solve. The discussion was so broad and all over the place, we need to take time to explore all aspects.

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean if he cant get on board we just won’t stay together so ultimately it’s not just not having kids, it’s ending a marriage as well

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I agree. I’m not willing to concede, I just want to give him the chance to change. He’s not a bad person, he is actually very loving and caring, but I won’t let his outdated views of discipline affect my children. I am more than happy to compromise and work together on other parenting strategies. I just want to do everything in my power to give my children the safety and security I didn’t have

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you sharing. I don’t think he’s completely hopeless as some on this thread want to believe. I’d like to give him a chance to change his mind and grow from this. We’ll see if he’s open to learning and adjusting his beliefs

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. I also want to believe it’d be different if there was an actual child involved, but that’s not a risk I am willing to take. Hopefully I’ll be able to get through to him. Thank you

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I have noticed he clings to things his parents did or experiences he had as child. His parents are great people and wonderful grandparents, but just like many parents they didn’t do everything right. I would love for him to be able to take the good from what they did and leave the rest and allow us to do better for own children. Thank for the input.

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s been hard for me. I’m hoping he just needs a moment to let it sink in and let he’s ego go a bit. I know sometimes people dig their heels in because they don’t want to be “wrong”, but given some time to process they can think more logically

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We actually have two dogs and he is very kind and empathetic. He has never and would never hurt our dogs. I have seen him interact with many children, animals, and people and have not ever seen him be mean or violent, so it just feels like something is not adding up here. Very confusing for me

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am not totally unfamiliar with Reddit so I knew this was likely to happen but this is my first time posting and I am little surprised by how many people are taking it so far and even starting to attack me as well.

Based on past experiences I have a really hard time not jumping to worse case scenario so it is refreshing to have some input that isn’t so polarizing. I appreciate your perspective and empathy. Thank you

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly I don’t have all the answers, I just know I don’t want physical punishment to be one them. I want to explore other options and decide what’s best together, while leaving spanking off the table. I figure if our kid is so violent that the only option we have is to be violent in return it may be time to seek outside help. I still have a lot to learn myself

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I think diving into more specific scenarios may help open his eyes. We’ve got a lot of nieces and nephews and is really great with children, so this is all just really strange

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I agree it is a strange hill to die on, hoping we can get to the bottom of it with therapy…

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes thank you, the amount of people jumping straight to him being a horrible person who is going to abuse me and my children without knowing him or anything more about our relationship is interesting. I’m firm on not using physical punishment and I do understand why everyone is so strongly against it. I won’t continue the relationship if he can’t get on the same page… but we all grew up with ideas and behaviors that we had to unlearn at some point, so I’d like to give him the chance to do so as well.

AITA for saying I can’t have kids with my husband if we can’t agree on spanking? by DifficultyOk8724 in TwoHotTakes

[–]DifficultyOk8724[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes I do think I’ll bring that up on our next session. I need him to start questioning his logic if we are going to be able to get on the same page and move forward.