I asked my partner to discipline my 7yo, but he was creepy so I broke things off

“He says he's trying to teach her humility ... I say he's trying to humiliate her,” Laura argues in the post. 

Laura* and Robert* have been in a relationship for three years. 

The pair met at work, and it wasn’t long before they took things further and moved in together. 

Laura has two daughters, Alice*, seven and Georgia*, nine, and he has an 11-year-old daughter, Hannah*. 

Blending the family together was relatively easy; the kids got along well, and it seemed like the family-of-five was living happily together for two years. 

On the surface, everything was wonderful. They were a family. 

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Robert's punishment for the 7-year-old was considered a step too far. Source: iStock

Stepdad told 7yo to kiss him on the cheek as punishment

But according to Laura, who turned to Reddit, this all changed during the recent July 4th celebrations. 

Spending the day outside with the neighbourhood, the kids were given small bang snap fireworks to let off in honour of the day. “We were outside, and [Alice] threw one near the dog,” the American mum explained. 

She was told to stop, but Alice continued letting off the fireworks near the dog. Accepting that she was only seven years old, Laura knew that her daughter had lots to learn. 

“I definitely have a more gentle approach, but still don't let them get away with stuff,” she clarified. Robert, however, is “more stern.” 

Pulling the empty pocket from his jeans, Robert told Alice to hold onto the fabric and follow him around. When he sat down, he told her to stand beside him as punishment. 

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For Laura, this meant Alice’s lesson was learned, and she told him to focus on enjoying the evening. 

“He tells her to give him a kiss on the cheek,” she explained. “She says she’s not comfortable with that before I can even speak (good on her!), and he says ‘OK, a kiss on the hand.’”

Laura interjected and asked to “think of something else”, so he told the seven-year-old to go to bed early. 

This didn’t sit well with Laura. 

When she brought it up, Robert said he was “trying to teach her humility.” She thinks he was trying to “humiliate” her daughter instead. 

“Kiss his hand like he's an emperor or something?” she asked. “Hell no.” 

An argument broke out, and he “grabbed [her] sides” and “got in” her face. 

This led to them ultimately breaking up. 

“The look on her face last night was a ‘Help me, Mum’ look, and I am not about to let anybody affect my kids like that,” she wrote. “I just won’t.”

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“Your daughter always comes first”

Laura wanted to know if she was overreacting to the situation, but she was met with a wave of support. 

“Kissing him as punishment? Gross,” someone wrote. “This whole situation set off alarm bells and red flags,” said another. 

Others argued the punishment he gave would not help Alice “learn and grow.” Instead, they suggested she walk the dog for a few days and “take responsibility for a few days” to help “connect with the dog” and “learn more about animals.” 

“Just take the [fireworks] away and explain why,” said another. “That’s the natural consequence of using something incorrectly.”

“Kids don’t need to learn humility, that’s an adult thing,” said another person. “Kids need to learn respect, right and wrong, etc.” 

Others commended Laura for going with her gut. “You did the right thing,” someone commented. “Your daughter always comes first.” 

*Names have been changed 

Originally published as I asked my partner to discipline my 7yo, but he was creepy so I broke things off