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“I Can Never Forgive Them”: Person Goes No-Contact With Parents After Life-Altering Accident
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“I Can Never Forgive Them”: Person Goes No-Contact With Parents After Life-Altering Accident

“I Can Never Forgive Them”: Person Goes No-Contact With Parents After Life-Altering Accident“It Went Into Voicemail”: Child Can’t Forgive Parents Who Missed Their Emergency CallPerson Refuses To Forgive Parents After Their Need For Sleep Left Them Helpless Post-Accident“It Went Into Voicemail”: 18YO Gets In A Crash And Parents Don’t Pick Up, Goes No Contact“I Really Needed Their Help”: Adult Child Cuts Parents Off Over 1 Mistake, Asks If They’re WrongChild Thinks Parents Don’t Deserve Forgiveness For Being Unavailable In An Emergency“Do Not Disturb” Turns Into A Nightmare After Child Can’t Reach Parents Post-Accident“They Never Picked Up”: Parents Are Unavailable At A Crucial Moment, Child Can’t Get Over ItPeople Are Divided On If This Person Should Forgive Their Parents For Missing An Emergency CallParents Put Their Phones On “Do Not Disturb”, Child Can’t Forgive Them When They Get In A Crash
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When something major happens—good or bad—many people turn to their parents first to share the news. It’s also not uncommon for individuals to have parents set as emergency contacts for moments they need support the most.

Unfortunately for this redditor, their parents weren’t available at the time they needed them the most – when they got in a terrible accident. Having to go through it all without them by their side led to the OP deciding to go no-contact with them, but they couldn’t help but wonder if cutting ties over one mistake made them a jerk.

Parents’ support in difficult times is important for a child no matter the age

Image credits: Pressmaster / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

This person couldn’t forgive their parents for not being there for them when they needed them the most

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Image credits: ASphotofamily / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Ryutaro Tsukata / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Child_NC_Parents

Image credits: Mental Health America (MHA) / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Many people seek emotional support from friends and family

Whether it comes from friends, family, or complete strangers, for that matter, emotional support is crucial for a person’s well-being, especially in a time of crisis. Chances are, you know exactly how important it is, if you’ve ever found yourself longing for nothing more than a friend’s shoulder to cry on or a parent telling you that it’s going to be okay.

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For many people, family members are the main source of emotional support. Understandably so; those of our kin tend to be the first people we develop a bond with and who are there to care for us through the good times and the bad. “Family relationships provide resources that can help an individual cope with stress, engage in healthier behaviors, and enhance self-esteem, leading to higher well-being,” a study on family relationships suggests.

Among family members, moms and dads tend to play an especially significant role when it comes to support. According to Unicef, “Parents are central to providing the support and sense of safety and security that children need during times of crisis.” After a deeply distressing event—like the accident the OP was involved in—affected children will reportedly cope and recover better if they feel safe and receive care and attention from their loved ones.

Image credits: jm_video / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

Parental support is often especially important

Bearing in mind just how important emotional support from parents is, it’s not surprising that being deprived of it at the time the OP needed it the most affected them quite significantly.

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In a piece for Psychology Today, Dr. Michelle P. Maidenberg, adjunct graduate professor of mindfulness practice at New York University, noted that such a lack of support can lead to the child feeling lonely, awkward, or not being intrinsically understood or result in them distancing themselves or cutting ties completely.

“For children who don’t have the emotional support of parents readily and feasibly available to them, the thinking can be, ‘If my own parents, who are supposed to love me and be there for me more than anyone else in the world do not love me and aren’t there for me, then who will be?’ It’s a double whammy when there’s a lack of emotional support from both parents,” Maidenberg noted.

The OP shared that until the accident, after which their mom and dad were out of reach, the couple were amazing parents. They also seemed to have learned their lesson, as the OP shared that they have since changed their rules regarding phone use at night. Be that as it may, the redditor was still considering going no-contact with them – a decision that seemingly evoked different reactions from the online community.

Many netizens believed that the OP wasn’t being a jerk in the situation

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Others, however, shared a different opinion

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Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

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Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Rugilė Žemaitytė

Rugilė Žemaitytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, my favorite part of the job involves browsing the web for the cutest cat pics, the funniest memes and eye-catching illustrations to brighten up your day!

Read less »

Rugilė Žemaitytė

Rugilė Žemaitytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, my favorite part of the job involves browsing the web for the cutest cat pics, the funniest memes and eye-catching illustrations to brighten up your day!

Do you think it's justified for the child to go no-contact with their parents after the accident?
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Melissa Harris
Community Member
15 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. Once upon a time, for most of human history, before cell phones or even private landlines, people didn't learn of accidents, disasters or deaths for days or weeks. The OP needs therapy to deal with the trauma of the the crash. The parents making themselves purposefully unreachable for hours was shortsighted but they've clearly learned that in the worst possible way and have changed their behavior. Also, realistically one of the grandparents could have gone directly to the parents' house to wake them while the other stayed with the OP in hospital.

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Anna V
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish my parents were good parents overall and the only wrong they would do was not answer once to an emergency

DeadPumpkin
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So he knew his parents wouldn’t hear the phone, called them anyway and then got pissed at them and went NC? YTA. If they answered the phone, but didn’t go to the hospital, that would be reason to go NC.

Meagan Glaser
Community Member
14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You missed the part where they were in a serious enough accident they were in and out of consciousness and needed immediate surgery. Is it really that crazy that they called *hoping* to get through to the people they needed? Your YTA is kinda like "well you know your dad would hit you when he was drinking instead of hugging you, why did you bother to ask him for a hug"

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Melissa Harris
Community Member
15 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. Once upon a time, for most of human history, before cell phones or even private landlines, people didn't learn of accidents, disasters or deaths for days or weeks. The OP needs therapy to deal with the trauma of the the crash. The parents making themselves purposefully unreachable for hours was shortsighted but they've clearly learned that in the worst possible way and have changed their behavior. Also, realistically one of the grandparents could have gone directly to the parents' house to wake them while the other stayed with the OP in hospital.

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Anna V
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish my parents were good parents overall and the only wrong they would do was not answer once to an emergency

DeadPumpkin
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So he knew his parents wouldn’t hear the phone, called them anyway and then got pissed at them and went NC? YTA. If they answered the phone, but didn’t go to the hospital, that would be reason to go NC.

Meagan Glaser
Community Member
14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You missed the part where they were in a serious enough accident they were in and out of consciousness and needed immediate surgery. Is it really that crazy that they called *hoping* to get through to the people they needed? Your YTA is kinda like "well you know your dad would hit you when he was drinking instead of hugging you, why did you bother to ask him for a hug"

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