'AITA for snapping at elderly woman who kept asking about my nephew’s medical condition?'

The Internet is standing firmly with a woman who snapped back at an older woman who kept pressing for details about her young nephew’s medical condition.

The discussion unfolded on Reddit’s 'Am I The A*****e' forum, where the original poster (OP), shared her frustration over the insensitive questions she received while taking her nephew to the park.

Woman snaps at an older woman

In the Reddit post titled “AITA for raising my voice at an older woman”, OP explained, "I was looking after my nephew, Little, over the weekend. Little, aged 4, has a severe speech delay, some gait issues and comes across as a lot younger than he is though he does look around 4-5 years old."

OP, along with her pre-teen daughter, took Little to the park, where they encountered an older woman (around 65) walking her small dog.

"We (me, pre-teen daughter and Little) went out to the park. Walking the opposite way on the same path was an older woman, maybe 65, and a small dog which Little wanted to pet. I asked the woman and she said it was ok. Little petted the dog and was babbling to it, with the woman saying "oh bless him" several times and "oh isn't he sweet." I made agreeing noises and after about 30 seconds Little stopped petting the dog and wanted to keep walking so we moved on."

After about 30 seconds, Little lost interest and moved on but the woman didn’t. 

OP continued, "I thought it was just a quick meeting but the woman then started walking the same way as us, asking questions about Little. I didn't really answer as I thought it was a bit odd and personal. Her first question was "what's wrong with him?" which I didn't answer but I did say he was 4 when she asked his age. She then kept pestering, asking "what's wrong with him?" and "why doesn't he speak clearly yet?" After she asked a few times, I snapped "I'll tell you his confidential medical history if you tell me yours!"

After multiple attempts to shut down the conversation, OP fired back which shocked the older woman. She called OP rude, turned around, and walked away in the opposite direction.

While OP felt justified, her pre-teen daughter had a different take. She suggested that the woman might have been “of her time” and didn’t realize she was being insensitive.

"Daughter thinks she was maybe just 'of her time' and maybe just didn't realise she was being insensitive, and saying Little doesn't have a diagnosis wouldn't have hurt, or I could have at least explained why her question was inappropriate rather than snapping at her."

Internet supports woman who shut down intrusive questions about nephew

One of the top comments read, "NTA Did she ask "what's wrong with him" where Little could clearly hear her?" 

Some users also commented on OP’s daughter’s reaction, saying she was being too generous toward the woman writing, "You're NTA. That woman was rude and intrusive. Daughter thinks she was maybe just 'of her time' Your daughter is probably just kindhearted, but there is no one alive today who grew up in a time where asking what's wrong with him about a child, in front of the child, was acceptable."

One wrote, "NTA. It’s rude as fuck to ask “what’s wrong with him,” regardless of age," while the other user wrote, "She's probably always been nosy and rude. It isn't always an age thing. She's still out of line, NTA."

Another user agreed saying, "NTA. Same age bracket here. She was absolutely rude. "Of her entitlement," not her age."

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