Navigating life as a blended family can be difficult, and knowing when to introduce your children to any step-siblings or half-siblings they may have isn't always black and white.
But one dad on Reddit has seemingly started an argument with his ex-wife after he went behind her back to take their three children to meet their stepbrother and two half-brothers without her permission.
The dad explained that his ex had claimed their children weren't "happy with the idea" of meeting their new family members just yet, so he had avoided introductions for around a year.
However, during a recent outing with their dad, the kids asked why they hadn't met their siblings yet, and all said they were eager to see them - so their dad agreed to arrange a meeting.
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In his post, he said: "I have a total of six children counting my stepson: Jack, 14, Sam, 10, and Hailey, eight, from my old marriage; and one-year-old twins Jon and Austin from my current marriage, plus Ben, 11, my stepson.
"I never made my kids from my previous marriage meet the twins or stepson because my ex said they weren't happy with the idea, and that she would tell me when they changed their mind. I didn't want to force the interaction and make things awkward, so I just trusted her and agreed.
"Yesterday I took Jack, Sam and Hailey to eat outside and meanwhile did some emergency grocery shopping for the babies.
"While I was doing that, Jack asked me why they haven't met their new brothers yet. I was surprised by this and asked all of them if they wanted to, and they all said yes, so we went to my house.
"One by one they met the twins (I didn't want to present them so many people at once), and they even met Ben. Overall it was a pretty good day and it all turned out as I always wished."
But when the kids went back home to their mum and told her what had happened, she was furious - and called her ex-husband to tell him he was wrong for going behind her back.
The dad tried to explain that the children suggested the meeting themselves, but their mum was convinced they weren't as excited as they claimed to be.
He added: "My ex-wife called me that night to ask me why I took the kids to my house and made them meet the babies instead of waiting for her 'thumbs up'.
"I said that waiting for her to tell me the kids were ready wasn't necessary because they themselves told me that. She said she 'knows her children' (whatever that means) and then hung up.
"I don't get why she's acting like I did something wrong, but maybe it's some weird rule about co-parenting that I don't know about?"
Commenters on the Reddit post were largely on the dad's side, with many of them stating that he was right for listening to his children and introducing them to their siblings when they said they were ready.
One person wrote: "Your children told you they wanted to meet the other kids and you made that happen. Jack’s question makes me wonder how long they’ve been waiting to meet them from when they were ready to."
While another added: "When your kids are on your time, you get to do the parenting. Your ex doesn't get to control your life just because you have children together."
And a third said: "It's the ex who isn't ready to see you move on with more children. These are muddy waters to navigate, but you as their father are entitled to have all of your children know one another."
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