AITA for yelling at a mom and her kid to get out of my home?

Picture a cozy living room, decked out with Dungeons & Dragons maps, dice, and miniatures, ready for an epic campaign. The host, a 28-year-old woman, is psyched to kick things off—until a mom shows up with her toddler in tow, unannounced. What starts as a minor hiccup spirals into chaos: a bathroom mess, a tantrum, a spilled drink, and a risky dash toward the host’s dog. When the host finally snaps and yells for them to leave, the fallout hits hard, with social media shade and a friend’s cold shoulder.

This Reddit AITA post is a rollercoaster of boundary clashes and parenting missteps, where a game night turns into a lesson in respect. Readers might feel the host’s stress, caught between hospitality and a disrupted evening. It’s a lively tale of social etiquette, house rules, and the chaos a toddler can unleash in the wrong setting.

‘AITA for yelling at a mom and her kid to get out of my home?’

A few months ago, I (28F) started a new DnD campaign and invited a few friends. One of them, “Sarah”, asked if her friend “Anne” could join. Anne is a mom who doesn’t get many chances to hang out with adults, so I agreed, even though I knew she might be flaky due to childcare responsibilities.

I asked Anne if she could attend at least the first few sessions to get familiar with the game, and she agreed. She then proceeded to cancel, mostly last minute, every proposed first session for the next two months. I told her I'm sorry but if she can't make it to the next proposed session, she won't be in long campaigns (still welcome to join one-shots).

She apologized and said she'll make it.. She made it. But brought her toddler without asking. As soon as they came the kid needed to use the bathroom. He made a mess since he can't fully use an adult toilet yet. I told Anne that's fine but asked her to clean it up. This surprised her and she started being a bit on edge.

We finally sat down at the table and the kid started running around, looking for things to do. I was a bit stressed out by this. Anne noticed and put him in her lap. But now the kid was at the table, which was covered in mini figurines, dice, pretty pictures and maps, most being a choking hazard, along with glasses of various drinks.

The kid started fussing about wanting to play with them, I was telling Anne no because it's not safe, she told me he's gentle and doesn't put stuff in his mouth- we bickered while her kid was throwing a tantrum. After the kid knocked over a glass, I loudly asked her to step out into the backyard and calm him down a bit while I make the table safer.

She did, visibly embarrassed, and I removed everything except for plain looking papers, pens and paper cups. I also did my best to calm down as this entire thing stressed me out to hell and back at this point. They came back and things were fine for a minute.

That is, until my dog came out of my bedroom to drink water. Now, I don’t have many house rules, but I have one that’s important: **“Ignore the dog”**, they were informed of that before coming over. The kid spotted her and yelled

I stopped him by stepping out in front of him, he ran into me, fell down and started crying. Anne started screaming at me, I screamed back, and very swiftly told her to get the f out of my home. Sarah was annoyed and told us it took them an hour and a half to get to me, then went with Anne since they carpooled.

The rest stayed, it was awkward for half an hour or so, but we ended up having fun and they even stayed for the night. I then woke up to the local fb groups and people's instagram stories calling me a controlling a**hole, saying I'm

Hosting a game night requires mutual respect, and this mom’s unannounced toddler threw a wrench in the plan. The host’s frustration—culminating in yelling—stems from repeated boundary violations, from ignoring the “no dog interaction” rule to dismissing safety concerns. Dr. Carla Marie Manly, a clinical psychologist, notes, “Clear boundaries protect both hosts and guests, especially in structured settings” (source). The mom’s failure to manage her child or pre-clear their attendance disrupted the group’s dynamic.

The conflict highlights a broader issue: mismatched expectations in social spaces. The host accommodated initially, adjusting the table and redirecting the child, but the mom’s disregard—especially letting her toddler chase the dog—escalated tensions. Surveys show 65% of hosting disputes arise from uncommunicated assumptions (source), reflecting this clash.

Dr. Manly advises, “Proactive communication prevents escalation.” The host could have set firmer ground rules upfront or paused the session to address the disruption calmly. Moving forward, a clear “no kids” policy and private outreach to the friend might mend ties while reinforcing boundaries.

Here’s the comments of Reddit users:

Reddit’s crew dove into this DnD drama like adventurers facing a rogue goblin, tossing out a vibrant mix of cheers and sharp quips. It’s like a tavern debate where everyone’s got a take, from backing the host’s boundary to roasting the mom’s chaos. Here’s the unfiltered scoop from the crowd, buzzing with support and a pinch of snark.

NotCreativeAtAll16 − NTA. If she couldnt find childcare, the least she should have done is reach out to you to make sure she can bring her toddler to your house. The second she didn't want to clean up after her kid is when I would have kicked her out, but she should never have brought him without clearing it with you first.

Eastern_Condition863 − NTA., but as a guest, I would be thankful you kicked them out. I would want to say something to them myself, but it not being my home, it's not my place. If you allowed them to continue to come, I would opt out to playing altogether.

Also, after waiting all this time for the new campaign to start, just to have it ruined would have pushed me over the edge. I'm patient, but to a point. I don't tolerate blatent disrepect, which is what this was from Sarah as well as Anne.

I would have called her out,

cschmidtusa − **NTA.** Anne completely disregarded your boundaries, repeatedly flaked on the game, and then brought a *toddler* without asking—after all that. You accommodated as much as possible, but there are clear limits when it comes to safety, respect,

and your own home.. * **The bathroom incident?** You reasonably asked her to clean up after her child.. * **The toddler at the table?** You adjusted the setup to make it safer and less stressful. * **The dog situation?** That was 100% Anne’s fault.

She ignored your *one* house rule, put her kid in an unsafe situation, and then had the audacity to scream at you when you prevented harm to both your dog *and* her child.. She left because of her own poor decisions, not because you were unreasonable.

Sarah taking her side and letting this blow up into public social media drama is unfair and immature. You're not

wesmorgan1 − Speaking as a player and back-in-the-day DM (dating back to original D&D and AD&D 1e) - there's no real way to childproof a DnD match with dice, figurines, counters, and all the rest, not to mention drinks/food and whatnot.

It's unreasonable to show up with a toddler and expect everyone else to adjust, especially if the DM has spent time and effort preparing the game. Speaking as a father of 4 - If you're a guest in someone else's home, you don't let your kid roam free.

If your kid throws a tantrum, it's your job to get them away from others and deal with it. If your kid can't use a toilet properly, it's your job to clean up. If you're told to stay away from the dog, it's your job to keep your kid away from the dog.. You are absolutely NTA.

Lovebeingadad54321 − Look at my username.. now that I have established I know what toddlers are like… NTA.  You don’t take a toddler ANYWHERE you don’t plan on stricktly supervising them, and you bring plenty of toys, snacks, games to keep them occupied.

Cat772 − NTA. Anne, on the other hand, AH. I’m not feeling too fond of Sarah either. Surely she could have shot you a text of warning that the kid was coming.

HolSmGamer − NTA. They disrespected your time, your property, and your rules. Being a mother is tough and comes with a ton of responsibilty, but you have already been very lenient with her and got rewarded with public slander.

Maleficent_Web_6034 − NTA - There were SO many options for Anne. If childcare wasn't an option for her, she should have let you know ahead of time, shown up early to prepare a toddler area (meaning bringing baby gates, or a play tent, or other childproofing things with activities) so that she could participate in dnd while ensuring her child was safe and as non-disruptive as possible. She didn't do any of that!

My only note is that once you accepted the child was going to be in your home for a few hours, you should have gone over the dog rules again and created a plan to make sure your dog still had access to water/bathroom/etc without getting near the kid.

It was Anne's responsibility to manage her child, and it was your responsibility to manage your dog. When the plan changed to accomodate Anne and the kid, you needed to change the dog plan to ensure EVERYONE was safe.

bulbaquil − NTA. It should not be an expectation that other people's residences - especially those who don't have small children - will be child-friendly or childproofed. You probably *should* have warned her of that as soon as she showed up with the toddler in tow,

but childproofiing isn't usually something people without children even *think* about. What was Mom even expecting the kid to *do* during the session? Did she anticipate you would just... have toys available or something?

Junkateriass − If I took a friend to someone’s house and they behaved this way, upsetting the host, I’d be helping with their kid and trying to smooth things over, not getting pissed off and ghosting you. Sarah’s just as much to blame as Anne

These Redditors are all in, hailing the host’s stand or slamming the mom’s disregard for rules. Some call the toddler’s presence a campaign-killer; others shade the friend for ghosting. Their takes are fiery, but do they capture the full dice roll of this drama, or are they just fueling the tavern gossip? One thing’s clear—this game night fiasco has everyone hooked.

This chaotic tale leaves us wondering: how do you keep the peace when a guest derails your plans? The host’s outburst shows the breaking point of hospitality under pressure. Ever had a guest ignore your house rules? Drop your thoughts below—let’s roll the dice on this DnD showdown!

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