‘I swore at my neighbour’s kid, and I’d do it again’

“You sound outright insufferable and downright mean-spirited!”

Living in close proximity to neighbours can sometimes lead to a little drama, especially when it comes to differing expectations of personal space.

One woman has taken to Reddit asking if she was in the wrong for telling her neighbour’s four-year-old son something rather expletive. 

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“Am I the A**hole?”

The woman describes a situation in which she’s on the top floor of a house and has had ongoing issues with her downstairs neighbours, particularly with her toddler. 

“Downstairs is an unassuming family. A father, police officer, a mother, profession unknown, and a toddler. 

“The toddler is inquisitive. He tries to open packages despite my saying how deeply inappropriate I find them. Most recently, he has left some tacky toys on the stairs, and there hasn’t been any clean-up.”

The tension escalates when the child repeatedly attempts to enter the woman’s apartment despite her protests.

“The child also has been constantly asking to go into my apartment to his mother, to which she says ‘oh my sweet baby, we can ask’. 

“I’ve said no. I don’t like children. I don’t want one in my space. Running their sticky hands over my things.”

The conflict reaches its peak when the woman, frustrated by the ongoing disregard for their boundaries, shouts at the child:

“I shouted at him. Not only did he try to open yet another package... screeched and cried ‘mine! mine!’ to which I turned and said, ‘No, it isn’t yours. It is mine. Go away and find your parents.’ before trying to ignore this pathetic tantrum and went inside.”

This altercation ends in an injury for the woman as she tripped over one of the child’s toys: “Only to be followed... with him trying to hit and bite. I turned around and said ‘F**k off you annoying little brat. Cry to someone who gives a f**k!’ I then tripped on one of his stupid little toy cars and dislocated my knee.”

The woman revealed to the forum that she’s been wondering if she overreacted.

“I’m sick and tired of parents who think their bratty children are entitled to go wherever they want, do whatever they want and touch whatever they want with their pinworm-infested hands. Just want to know, though, for my own sanity…Am I the A**hole?”

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“You are not the A**hole!”

The post has close to 500 comments with words of support and frustration shared to the woman.

One wrote, “Not the a**hole! 

“The behaviour of a misbehaving child can push even the most child-loving people to snap. All you did was raise your voice at a child who was attacking you. You did nothing wrong.”

Another said, “Not the a**hole, but wow, you really don’t like kids.

“I’m assuming you’re still really angry about this whole thing.”

A third wrote, “Possibly shouldn’t have sworn at a child, but I get it. 

“There’s only so much a person can take.”

RELATED: Disgruntled neighbour's letter divides the internet

Is it every ok to swear at a child? Source: iStock

“You sound outright insufferable”

However, several users weren’t on the original poster’s side and called out her bratty behaviour. 

“Well, you’re certainly entitled to your boundaries and the parents need to do a better job of supervising their child and teaching them right from wrong, but you don’t really come off as an overall nice person. 

“In fact, you sound outright insufferable and downright mean-spirited.”

Another added, “You told a toddler to f**k off?

“You’re the a**hole”

And a third wrote, “You went about this all wrong. 

“You had AMPLE opportunity to notify your landlord, hell even the law about the opening of your packages, the disrespect for the shared space of the stairs, and the parents not caring for their child right and watching it.

“I’m sure there was a clause in the rental agreement about disturbances. 

“Hell, you could have yelled at the parents right then. 

“But no. 

“You yelled at the kid whose parents obviously haven’t taught him better.”

While there are always two sides to every story, we wonder if these two neighbours will offer the other any milk anytime soon!

Originally published as ‘I swore at my neighbour’s kid, and I’d do it again’