In a post shared under the username Tophy124 on Mumsnet’s Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) subforum, the mom said that her son, who “has been accident prone” since his dad has been away on a work trip abroad, “fell onto tile flooring from two feet up (in a standing position) and whacked his head very hard. I saw it happen but couldn’t get to him in time and am really worried about him.”

The mom said when she called her husband following the accident, he allegedly told her “why are you calling me? Be an adult and learn to make a decision on your own.”

A February 2019 study in the peer-reviewed journal Family Relations found that “mothers’ parenting is influenced by their spouse’s (i.e., fathers’) way of destructively dealing with disagreements in marital interactions, indicating the interdependent and relational [nature] of family relationships.”

The study’s findings suggested that “mothers’ own and their spouse’s (fathers’) behaviors in the face of marital conflict may have different implications for maternal parenting practices.

“Although mothers tended to regulate and restrain their unsupportive parenting toward the child after their own destructive reactions to marital conflict, they were more likely to engage in unsupportive parenting if their partner (i.e., fathers) used more destructive strategies in marital interactions,” the study showed.

Lindsey Ferris, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Washington state, told Newsweek: “There is likely much more going on with this couple than what we see in the post, and we are only seeing one perspective of the situation.

“If the couple is bumping into these disagreements and issues regularly and can’t work through them, couples therapy may be a way to help talk through the situations and issues arising and help find ways to resolve conflict or address feelings,” Ferris added.

The mother in the latest Mumsnet post said her son “has a lump on the back of his head but thankfully seems OK otherwise,” adding “it was really scary and so I was crying.”

She called her husband because she struggled to decide whether the incident warranted a visit to the hospital for urgent care, as there were “no obvious concussion signs.”

In a later post, the mom explained the point of calling her husband “was to get a second opinion and also for emotional support. Of which I got none.”

According to the mom, her husband allegedly told her: “oh it’s always woe is me isn’t it” and that “running errands with a toddler in tow and running the whole house with no support,” since the couple lives away from friends and family, is “no big deal.”

The user asked: “Aibu to not speak to his Dad for the next 2 weeks until he is back off the work trip?…I’m [sitting] here wondering why I wasted my good years with this empathy lacking moron.

“I feel like I started to hate him tonight. I hope I’m making the right choice in keeping him home and not going to A&E. Making all the parenting choices when I’m married seems unfair and ridiculous,” the mom said.

The latest viral post sparked debate among users on Mumsnet. Several sided with the original poster, while others were more diplomatic and understanding of the husband’s reaction.

Endofmarope said: “Your husband sounds like a prick and I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk to him.”

Musti said: “He’s vile op [original poster]. Who the hell does he think he is?? He doesn’t respect you or what you do, swans off leaving you to do all house and childcare and doesn’t even appreciate it. Anyone knowing their head is worrying and needs monitoring. You were right, he’s a moron.”

User phishy said: “Leave the twat. I’m guessing he’s a moron in lots of ways?”

Clarinet1 said: “I’m sorry you feel so unsupported in your marriage. However it does sound as though you need to refer to your DH quite a bit and I find it surprising that a grown woman and mother can’t make up her mind whether her DS [dear son] requires a hospital visit.”

User redtshirt50 said: “He sounds like he was short with you, which obviously isn’t nice when you’re worried. But I do kind of agree with him that you should have been able to make that decision yourself and then tell him about it later.”

User redtshirt50 explained the husband may have felt like the wife was “guilt tripping him for being away / being dramatic and therefore have led to the short reaction.”

CoveredInCobwebs said: “He sounds horrible. But also, parenting solo with one child while your partner is away really shouldn’t be that hard.”

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of this case.