My kid (12) usually has a group of friends over on Sunday afternoons.

A couple weeks back one of the kids seemed to not be able to come over anymore. This child's (Stu, 10M) mother is friends with my wife. I asked my wife to message her and see what was up. Apparently she was angry that I allowed her son to walk around the neighborhood with the other kids (12, 13, 13) and he wasn't allowed to do so. Ever since, Stu's mom hasn't allowed him to come back over.

We live in a small, rural town that's mostly suburban. There's not a huge amount of violent crime here. I didn't anticipate letting a 10 year old with older kids to walk around near our home would be an issue.

My wife says the rift between Stu and my kiddo are likely irreparable. Worse, that I should have apologized as I've made the situation between my wife and her friend more difficult. I am kind of flummoxed that my wife is angry at me for not apologizing, it literally hadn't occured to me to apologize for letting the kids walk around the neighborhood as such a thing seems totally reasonable. I also don't talk to Stu's mom as we are not friends and barely know one another. I think Stu's mom going dark and not saying anything was not kind and I think my wife demanding I apologize to repair the relationship seems...odd.

Basically, I let 4 kids walk around the neighborhood and now everyone is mad at me. AITA?