Teen Explodes at Kids Touching Dead Body at Mom’s Wake
The Original Post
Edit: at the top so its seen. I see a lot of comments saying “she” although i am a guy. Understandable as i never mentioned it. 😉
This happened decades ago. My mom died of cancer when I was not quite 17. She raised me on her own so for all my life it was me and her. Needless to say, I was devastated and a wreck. But 8 digress. Skip to my mom’s wake.
She was laid out. Standard wake setup. Her up front. Family down the side for people to offer condolences, and a seating area in the middle. Much of the event was a haze to me. I do remember it was busy at times as my mom was loved by coworkers and friends groups of which she had many.
During one lull in the event I was sitting contemplating life and how to navigate it without her when I noticed two kids, a girl and a boy probably around 8ish or so. They approach the casket with their mom of whom I had no knowledge of the relationship to my mom, but that wasn’t uncommon. She knew a lot of people. But they paid their respects and went to sit down.
More people come but then it gets slow again. I notice the kids approach the casket sans mom who was talking with others. The kids then walk back to mom. A bit later they go up again. Then they do the fast kid walk, the one where they want to run but not bring that much attention to themselves. They go right past the receiving line whispering, “I touched her, I touched her!” “Me too!”
I realized what was going on. The kids were making it a game. I got up and yelled out, “Have some fucking respect! This isn’t the place to let your kids run around playing touch the dead fucking body!”
Everyone went completely silent and looked from me to the kids to the mom. Kids started crying either from the sudden yelling at a quiet and somber occasion or for getting caught. Woman looked at me like she just sucked a whole lemon, mouth opened to say something but thought better of it, huffed and stormed out with her kids.
I went out the back door to get some air and alone time to calm down. When I came back it was back to low level conversation but I did notice some furtive glances my way. Always wondered if they were talking crap about me, understanding because I was grieving, or agreeing.
The few times I told this story throughout my life I got mixed reactions. Some agree that wakes are no place for kids at all, let alone to be allowed to run around unsupervised. Some say I should have shut up and let it go without making a scene. It’s one of those core memories though. One I cringe over when it comes up during the sleepless nights. So I’ll leave it up to you guys. Was I the asshole?
What Reddit Said
Reddit overwhelmingly supported the grieving teenager’s reaction. Most users emphasized that while kids will naturally act inappropriately, that’s exactly why parents need to supervise them closely at solemn events. The consensus was clear: a wake is absolutely not the place for children to run around unsupervised, let alone make games out of touching the deceased.
Many Redditors pointed out that the mother’s reaction spoke volumes about her guilt. She clearly wanted to argue back but realized she had no defense for her children’s appalling behavior. Moreover, users noted that at 17 and freshly orphaned, OP was barely more than a child himself dealing with unimaginable grief.
The Verdict
The overwhelming consensus: OP is Not the Asshole (NTA). This situation involving kids touching dead body wake represents a clear failure of parenting during a sacred moment of mourning. While OP’s language was harsh, his reaction was completely understandable given the circumstances. This is a classic case of family drama where grief and poor parenting collided, and most agreed the real asshole was the negligent mother who allowed her children to desecrate a funeral setting.
Original post from r/AmItheAsshole (1,679 upvotes, 368 comments)