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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/throwmylifeaway2911 on 2023-07-24 08:42:29.
This is a bit of an odd situation, so I figured I’d come to reddit for some fresh perspectives.
So, for the past I’d say three months, my older son Rex (15) always, and I mean always, gets hiccups midway through dinner. I’m not sure what kind of glitch is going on, I’ve had him checked out and apparently nothing is wrong except maybe eating too fast (he has tried slowing down but no luck).
Ordinarily this wouldn’t be much of a problem, except my younger son Marshall (13) has a phobia of hiccups (yes, it’s a real thing). He’s been totally freaked out and usually had his hands clamped over his ears every time we sat down to dinner. I felt really bad, his anxiety’s terrible and it was beyond just him being annoyed. I’ve tried a lot of things, from hiccup remedies for Rex and some therapy for Marshall, but it just doesn’t seem to be working.
Last week I decided Rex should just eat upstairs. I think he’s old enough to not care as much about sitting at the table, plus the hiccups are embarrassing to him so I figured he’d enjoy the privacy. Well my sister is a bigtime busybody, she’s always asking my kids all kinds of invasive questions. I was the on the phone with her the other day and guess who’s telling me a I’m a bad mother for daring to consider my child with a phobia.
I defended my position by acknowledging that yes, Rex might be feeling a slight amount of extra embarrassment because he has to eat upstairs, but honestly that’s nothing compared to the terror his brother was experiencing when he was downstairs. I don’t think my sister understands the gravity of a phobia, she just thinks Marshall “doesn’t like hiccups” and that’s it, but then again she’s always been dismissive of mental issues.
That said, I guess her words did have an effect on me because I’m still thinking about it now. AITA here for how I’m handling things?