Dad leaves Christmas dinner early after wife mocks teenage son’s ‘deadpan’ voice

A dad say’s he’s long felt frustrated by the way his wife will criticise and mock his teenage son’s ‘deadpan’ voice, with things finally coming to a head over Christmas dinner at her family home

A man who admits his teenage son has a somewhat ‘deadpan’ voice has become sick and tired of his wife insisting that the boy ‘needs to be more enthusiastic and vocal’, with their differing viewpoints ultimately leading to a heated disagreement over Christmas dinner. According to this fed-up dad, he does love his wife but feels she ‘can be a bit inconsiderate at times’.

Although he is perfectly fine with his 15-year-old son expressing himself ‘in his own way’, his wife will often tell him to ‘speak up’ or ‘say it with feeling’. He knows this bugs his son, and things have recently gotten worse after she began taking a different, more exaggerated approach.

Taking to Reddit, where he goes by the username u/throwawaythechicken1, the 35-year-old man wrote: “When addressing him, she talks in the most enthusiastic voice she can muster.

“She’ll even go so far as to clap her hands and make facial expressions as she talks to him. ‘How was school today? Tell me all about it! Speak LOUDLY and with ENTHUSIASM!’ (Think kindergarten teacher talking to her students). My son just looks at her like she’s crazy and I can tell he’s embarrassed.

“I have tried to privately talk to my wife about this, but she doesn’t seem to get it. She insists that her way is the ‘right’ way and that our son needs to learn how to be more outgoing.”

The family recently celebrated Christmas at his sister-in-law’s house and, once again, his wife put on her over-enthusiastic ‘teacher’ voice when the youngster asked for some gravy.

He continued: “My wife, in her usual enthusiastic voice, started saying ‘Say it with feeling, honey! Can you ask for the gravy with enthusiasm?!’

“I snapped. It’s one thing to do this when it’s just the two of us, but doing this in front of our family was too much. I got up, took my son, and took him to the movies, leaving my wife with the other family members.”

Once they’d gotten home, his wife ‘ripped into’ him for ’embarrassing her’, to which he replied that he was just sick of her trying to ‘fix their son’s personality’. He felt as though he’d had no choice but to stand up for his son, but now wonders if he might have taken things too far.

One fellow Reddit user reassured him: “You actively brought this up, multiple times in private, with your wife. She has lost all claims to ask for this matter to remain in private because she refuses to act appropriately after being addressed.

“You are looking out for the mental health of your son and didn’t force him to sit there and be exposed to harassment from your wife.”

Another advised: “I have a friend whose diction is very emotionless, and they are absolutely wonderful. It doesn’t mean anything about his personality, or his capacity for emotion or passion. You’re doing the right thing standing up for your son.”

Have you experienced an awkward dinnertime altercation? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com