A concerned Reddit user took to the subthread, “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) to share his story of how his teenage son cannot do a good job of cleaning up properly after using the toilet and asked if his attempt to get his son to have better toilet hygiene made him an a**hole.
The original poster (OP) started by bemoaning how his 14-year-old son could not wipe properly after using the toilet. However, he did not make much of an issue out of it because his wife always did the laundry.
However, things changed recently due to his wife having to deal with some health issues. As a result, OP had to combine her household chores with the usual ones he handles, while his son still maintains his original chores.
On the first day he did the household laundry, the Reddit user narrated how he gagged and nearly threw up at the sight of his son’s underwear.
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He went further to paint a grim picture of the situation by suggesting only a 3-year-old who had not been potty trained would be allowed such a mess — certainly not his teenage son.
Confronting the Situation
The concerned father explained that he talked to his son about doing a better job wiping and he promised to change. Unfortunately, the change never materialized, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Since his son does not know how to use the washing machine and refuses to do his laundry by hand, the only alternative was to have a wand bidet installed in his son’s bathroom.
There was already one in the bathroom he shared with his wife and it was quite effective.
Drastic Situations Call for Drastic Measures
The OP described how his son protested against using the bidet.
At this point, he has no choice but to suggest taking him to see a doctor to know if it is a psychological or physical problem.
He also threatened to ask his son’s friends the next time they came to visit if that was the same way they left their underwear in a mess.
The OP emphasized he would never have gone through with the threat but his son certainly thought he was serious. OP’s son called him an “a**hole” and went further to report the situation to his mom.
OP said that that his wife made light of the issue and asked him to continue with the laundry until she got better.
OP ended by claiming he didn’t agree with his wife’s approach and felt his son could face long-term social consequences like finding a partner — unless such a person had a poop fetish.
Although his son now uses the bidet, the boy describes it as “gross” and “weird.” However, OP makes him understand that there is nothing weirder than when a 14-year-old constantly craps his pants.
He then asked for people’s thoughts about the situation and whether or not he was wrong and whether, “AITA.”
Readers Share Their Opinions
Following the OP’s post, several of the Reddit users took to the comment section to give their thoughts. Many of them sided with the father regarding the bidet but chided both parents for letting it get this far in the first place.
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However, most of the blame fell on the mom, whom many felt was a big enabler of the son’s poor hygiene. While commenting, a Reddit user SecretJealous2324 whose opinion had the most votes, wrote: “NTA (Not the a**hole). 14 is a little late in life to be learning how to clean your butt after using the toilet. Your wife is doing him no favors by allowing and coddling this behavior.”
Another user u/Vomitthewords noted, “I’m surprised his friends haven’t started calling him out for always smelling like poop. NTA. But by 14, he should be learning to do his own laundry in addition to being able to wipe his own butt. And no, you’re not doing him any favors by letting this continue.”
Meanwhile, user @ellbeecee also remarked: “NTA for the bidet thing. But kind of TA (the a**hole) for never realizing your son had an issue. Didn’t he stink? Were you just never in the same room as him? Also, teach him to wash his butt in the shower too.”
Crucially, most of the commenters urged the OP to stop doing his son’s laundry immediately as he is old enough to know how to do that. They also advised that he should take his son to see a doctor as soon as possible.
What are your thoughts about the story? Was the OP wrong to ask his son to use a bidet? What would you have done differently?
Our article has been inspired by Reddit and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Career Step Up.
This article was produced by Mama Say What?! and syndicated by Career Step Up.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Krakenimages.com. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.