Mom ends her family’s vacation in less than 24 hours after her kids won’t stop fighting

As any seasoned parent knows, there’s no such thing as a relaxing family vacation. Because if your kids are coming, it’s more like a trip versus an actual vacation, as “vacation” implies rest. And when you’re away with your kids, there is no such thing as rest. Especially in the car.

And one mom decided she’d had enough of her kids’ crap and ended the entire family vacation in less than a day. She’s now asking if she’s wrong for doing so in the Reddit AITA (“Am I The A-hole?”) forum.

She begins her post by saying she has three kids, but it’s her sons, who are 9 and 8, who have been “driving us crazy.” (Her daughter is 3.)

“They fight like cats and dogs. We’ve had countless talks with them about respecting each other, to no avail. I understand sibling rivalry but it’s gotten to the point it’s disruptive to us all, every day.”

AITA for cancelling vacation less than 24 hours in due to my kid’s behavior?
by u/vacationslayer238 in AmItheAsshole

She was already apprehensive about taking a family vacation because of it, but her husband convinced her that they were still going.

“First of all, the 3.5 hour car ride was (predictably) hell,” she continues. “Boys fighting and riling each other up the whole time. Husband and I kept trying to reassure each other that things would be better once we got there and they would be too excited to cause trouble.”

That…was not the case. She says the boys basically wreaked havoc on the rental house as soon as the arrived. And the restaurant they went to for lunch.

“We finally go to the beach and they are frankly being brats. Refusing sunscreen. Fighting over toys. Pushing their luck repeatedly going farther and farther out in the water than we told them to. Cursing.”

By dinner time, Mom was DONE-ZO.

“They were totally ruining it for everybody,” she says. “Nothing had worked and I told my husband we needed to go home, for the reasons mentioned above, mainly that they needed to see a REAL consequence.”

Her husband wasn’t on board with ending the vacation so soon. Mom says she put her foot down and told him she was leaving alone, or they could all leave together. Either way, her vacation was over.

“He got super p*ssed and told me it was ridiculous and unfair to our daughter. I actually agree with him but saw no other choice at this point. Of course when I tell the kids they immediately burst into tears and are begging to stay, promising they will behave.”

Grandma was also along for the trip, and was just as disappointed as the kids were over her daughter’s decision to end the vacation.

“She thinks her precious grandbabies do no wrong. She argued with me too, begging me to ‘just let it go’ but I refused to budge,” she says. “So, we left, less than 24 hours into a 4 day vacation.”

She says the ride home was awful, with the kids sobbing and Grandma majorly guilt-tripping and her husband giving her the “silent treatment” the whole way.

“Here we are the following evening and pretty much no one likes me right now except my 3-year-old. Are they right? AITA?”

Most comments were supportive of the mom’s decision, and determined that she wasn’t the a-hole—her kids were.

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by u/Snowflake10000000 from discussion AITA for cancelling vacation less than 24 hours in due to my kid’s behavior?
in AmItheAsshole

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by u/North_Badger6101 from discussion AITA for cancelling vacation less than 24 hours in due to my kid’s behavior?
in AmItheAsshole

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by u/IntrovertedBookMan from discussion AITA for cancelling vacation less than 24 hours in due to my kid’s behavior?
in AmItheAsshole

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by u/co_carolelaine from discussion AITA for cancelling vacation less than 24 hours in due to my kid’s behavior?
in AmItheAsshole

Personally, I don’t think she’s in the wrong here, and it’s unfair for her to shoulder this whole mess on her own. Things had to have been pretty bad if she was willing to get back in the car with all that fighting and not stay at the beach. I know when my anxiety is out of control when I’m away from home, I sometimes wish I was back in my comfort zone where I have more control, too.

And the kids will definitely learn that she’s serious when it comes to consequences now. Additionally, I’d suggest a Mommy/daughter trip to an indoor water park or local lake or something fun for the two of them to do away from everyone else. She’s only three and likely won’t remember anything about the trip that never was anyway. And the people who need to learn the lesson here hopefully will.

What do you think? Was she wrong?