‘My Husband Thinks I Should Fake An Apology’ — Mom Forces Her 12-Year-Old's Friend To Wear Seat Belt, Causes Feud With Friend's Mother

Sep 02, 2021 by apost team

Wearing a seatbelt is something most adults and children are required to do while in a vehicle in many countries worldwide. While the rules are not completely universal, studies have shown that wearing a seatbelt is a standard safety precaution people can take whenever they are in a car. It’s natural for parents to want to do anything possible to protect their children from the dangers and unpredictability of the world, including car accidents. For one mother, she found that sometimes persisting with this notion can result in the end of a friendship.

One mother went to Reddit in June 2021 to explain a situation that happened with her 12-year-old daughter’s friend and ask users for advice on what she should do next. She had agreed to carpool with the mother of one of her daughter’s friends. The other mom would pick the kids up in the morning to bring them to school, and the Reddit original poster (OP) would pick them up after school, as well as the friend’s older brother.

Everything was going great at first, and the kids loved getting to spend more time together. However, the OP struggled to get the friend and her brother to wear their seatbelts. This resulted in daily problems, but the kids usually listened — until one day they refused. It escalated to the point that their mother got involved and was furious with the OP for trying to parent her kids. Since then, the daughter and her friend are no longer allowed to be friends with each other. The OP’s husband said she should fake an apology for the betterment of her child’s friendship, but she doesn’t want to.

Starting off her Reddit post, the OP explained that her 12-year-old daughter struggled to make friends but had recently become friends with a popular girl who the OP referred to as Danielle. Even though Danielle came off as a little bossy, she was usually nice, so the OP was happy that her daughter had made a new friend. She teamed up with Danielle’s mom to carpool the girls to and from school, as well as Danielle’s 14-year-old brother. 

Everything was going great at first, and the girls were excited to spend so much time together. “But one constant struggle was getting Danielle and her brother to wear their seat belts,” the OP explained. “This is a no argument situation for me, kid or adult, you’re wearing a seatbelt.” Most countries have laws requiring children to wear seatbelts. According to the NCSL, all 50 states in the United States have some form of child safety seat law, with most recommending that children under the age of 16 wear a seatbelt in the car.

This notion was extremely personal to the OP, as she had lost a friend in high school in a car accident that she believed could have been prevented had the friend been wearing a seatbelt. Since the kids constantly complained about having to wear a seatbelt, the OP told their mother, but she didn’t seem to mind. Fortunately, they began arguing less with the OP about having to wear a seatbelt. This, unfortunately, did not last long. After making a quick stop at the post office, the OP came back to her car to find that Danielle and her brother had taken their seatbelts off and refused to put them back on. 

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While the kids were determined not to wear a seatbelt, the OP was determined not to drive until they did. The OP called the kids’ parents, but neither answered their phones. “I said I wasn’t driving until they put them on,” she said. “They still refused.” It took an entire 45 minutes for Danielle and her brother to finally cave and put their seatbelts on, all the while the OP’s daughter was begging her mom to just drive.

After she dropped the other kids off at their house, the OP received an angry phone call from their mother. “She said I made her son late for a soccer game. I said he wouldn’t have been if he just wore his seatbelt,” the OP stated. The two continued feuding as the OP was adamant about making people wear seatbelts if they were in her car, but the other mom said she couldn’t “control” children that weren’t hers. This resulted in a break in the carpool agreement, and each mother drove their own kids to and from school.

Now the OP’s daughter isn’t allowed to be friends with Danielle and her brother until the OP apologizes to them. “I refuse,” she said. “I did nothing wrong.” However, her daughter is extremely upset with her since she is losing one of her new friends. The OP explained, “My husband thinks I should fake an apology so our daughter can keep her friend. I don’t think it’s worth it. I’m not setting an example that they can do whatever at my house and I won’t say anything. My daughter is hurt and furious, currently not speaking with me.”

However, Reddit users have come to the OP’s defense and claimed that she was right to tell the kids to wear a seatbelt since it’s a good safety precaution that everyone should practice, especially children.

Do you think this mom was right or wrong to tell her daughter’s friends to wear a seatbelt? What would you do if you were in her situation? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your family and friends, too.