The aggrieved boy's mother, a pregnant nurse who has also been charged over the weekend incident, fared better and was granted bail when the couple faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday.

The Canberra Times has chosen not to name the 31-year-old man or the 32-year-old woman in order to avoid identifying the children involved in the incident.

In court, magistrate Glenn Theakston said a group of boys aged 12 and 13 had attended a sleepover at a Watson house on the night in question.

Mr Theakston said the boys were playing "a slap game", which involved hitting each other for fun.

Things escalated when one of the boys was slapped in the face, and he left.

Some time later, that boy's mother and stepfather allegedly turned up at the Watson home in a rage.

Mr Theakston said police alleged the 31-year-old stepfather entered a bedroom and placed one boy in a headlock, then kicked out, hitting a second child in the head, while falling onto a mattress.

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The man then allegedly grabbed the throat of a third boy, who struggled to breathe as a result.

The 31-year-old's partner threatened the alleged victims, according to police, who say she told them: "You're screwed. He just got out of jail. We will get you before school. We will get people onto you."

Mr Theakston said "the father of the house" eventually intervened and asked the aggressive couple to leave, which they did.

However, he said the upset child's stepfather had apparently turned around at some point and run back towards the house before the door was slammed shut.

The slapped boy's mother was the first to face court on Monday, charged with aggravated burglary.

A prosecutor opposed bail, citing the alleged threats and saying the couple's behaviour had been a drastic overreaction to the slapping situation.

The woman's Aboriginal Legal Service lawyer successfully applied for her to be granted bail, however, and entered a not guilty plea on the 32-year-old's behalf.

When the 31-year-old man faced court a short time later, he did not enter pleas to two counts of common assault or single charges of aggravated burglary and choking, suffocating or strangling.

Mr Theakston also read to him a series of historical charges, including robbery, dating back to 2016.

The prosecutor again opposed bail, this time describing what had happened as "an irrational and disproportionate reaction to the events which had transpired earlier that day".

She added that the man had previous convictions for failing to appear in courts in the ACT and NSW.

A Legal Aid duty lawyer sought bail on the man's behalf, saying he was a furniture removalist who was concerned about letting his boss down if he was remanded in custody.

The man also addressed the court, saying he had "taken a big turnaround in jail" and lived a law-abiding life since being "incarcerated in New South".

"I've never had a violent offence, and the context of this matter has been blown up by the minors that had baited my stepson into the park and had foul play," the 31-year-old told Mr Theakston.

"I've got a lot of good things going for me."

Mr Theakston refused the man bail, saying he was concerned the man would endanger the safety and welfare of the boys at the sleepover.

He described the alleged assault as "bizarre", and said what the man and his partner were accused of doing was "inflammatory" and the sort of thing that would only ever make a bad situation worse.

"It's certainly an example of behaviour that's not befitting of a parent, or adult," the magistrate said.

The 31-year-old man was remanded in custody to reappear in court on August 15, while his partner was bailed to appear on October 10.

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