r/AITA
AITA for stabbing Gertrude when she wouldn’t climb up the playground slide?
Hello. This thread has been so helpful to my classmates as they sat in the principal’s office, so I hope there will be some insight for my predicament as well.
I (3M) value open communication and psychological safety during recess. Earlier today, my classmate Gertrude (4F) froze halfway up the slide ladder due to what she described as a “fear of heights.” While I respect individual journeys, her refusal to climb created a bottleneck at the foot of the slide, affecting the broader playground community—which consists of innocent students seeking play time as a mechanism to offset stress from the several issues plaguing us preschoolers recently. After several calm reminders (“please move” escalating to “MOVE”), I gently enabled her transition off the ladder using a nearby stick. She cried and reported me to our teacher (48F), who immediately sided with her without hearing my perspective. For context, Gertrude has a history of crying to the teachers after every minor discomfort, and I feel egregiously unheard. I am now being labeled “unsafe” by conspiring adults around me.
AITA for having boundaries around playground efficiency?
EDIT 1: Wow, this blew up during nap time. Thank you for your thoughts. I am trying to process them but also someone took my sticker. Once I seek justice in that regard I will respond to any queries about my situation.
EDIT 2: For added clarity upon request, though stick may have entered her eye, but it couldn’t possibly have hurt that much—it wasn’t even the sharpest stick available.
EDIT 3: Update: My teacher has ostracised me by labelling me as violent. Several violent actions don’t make a whole person violent—I reject this framing. She is constricting my entire sense of self to a single adjective and she also says I am no longer allowed to hold sticks.
EDIT 5: Thank you for all the suggestions butI unfortunately cannot go no contact because my mom says I have to attend preschool. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.
Top Comments
MentalBee1646: NTA. Your teacher invalidated your lived experience. This school does not seem like a safe space—you had to seek psychological safety in the only way you could.
SnooPear3894: This sounds like emotional manipulation from Gertrude. Crying can be a control tactic. Classic narcissistic behavior. You don’t owe anyone anything, protect your peace.
EuphoricLemon8348: You are absolutely NTA. All you did was enforce a boundary during your sacred play time. Gertrude clearly had no respect for your emotional comfort. Keep honoring your needs.
CoolApple4902: NTA. Do not let them gaslight you by invalidating your experience. From now, document everything. The school not believing you is a huge red flag. Reclaim your autonomy.
WistfulSloth2939: Honestly go no contact with the entire class. It is evidently a toxic environment full of people with dysregulated emotional responses and underdeveloped rational thinking. Trust your instincts, you will have dodged a bullet by escaping such limiting influences.
EDIT 6: Reading the thread I’ve realized that I have undergone significant emotional trauma, and that I am actually the victim in this situation who has been falsely punished due to Gertrude’s severe emotional immaturity. I would appreciate you holding space for me as I begin my healing journey and try to distance myself from this toxic environment.