Advice Columnist Amy Dickinson Gives Some Harsh Advice to Woman about Her Man

Los Angeles, CA–“Dear Amy: My boyfriend and I were watching my 5-year-old niece. She came to me and told me that my boyfriend said he was going to punch her in the nose. I know that when my boyfriend is playing with the kids he plays around and says things, but he is adamant that he didn’t say that. “I spoke with my niece’s parents, and we chalked it up as a misunderstanding. “But now my boyfriend does not want her playing with him, and he refuses to watch her unless someone is with him every minute.
“He is in law enforcement and says he sees things like this all the time, situations in which a kid accuses an adult of doing something and the adult gets in trouble. His exact words were, ‘God forbid she said I touched her.’ “I don’t know how to get him to understand that she is a 5-year-old kid with a vivid imagination, and I feel this might be the end of our relationship. “HELPLESS AND CLUELESS” I thought the boyfriend in the scenario above was overreacting a little but I was floored by the response by advice columnist Amy Dickinson. Dickinson writes: “Most of what young children say has some basis in reality. You should believe your niece but also assume that perhaps your boyfriend was horsing around and that his statement was taken out of context. “Your boyfriend is the adult in this scenario, and it is his job to put things in perspective. Being in law enforcement, he should be more — not less — understanding about this incident. The fact that he is so punitive and blames a 5-year-old for this incident highlights his own immaturity. “I do agree with him about this one thing, however: He should not be alone with your niece because he can’t be trusted to treat her well.” The full column is Boyfriend defensive about girl’s comment–thanks to Justin, a reader, for sending it.