Father Struggles with Daughter’s Troubling Behavior and Seeks Reddit’s Advice
A Reddit user, HallNum032, shared his concerns about his 16-year-old daughter’s worsening behavior after she started hanging out with a different group at school. Once a nice and quiet girl, she began imitating her new friends’ mean behavior, making hurtful comments about others’ appearances and possessions.
Concerned, the father frequently sat his daughter down to discuss her behavior, highlighting how it negatively affected those around her. One person particularly impacted was their housekeeper. The daughter targeted her with criticisms about her hair, clothes, and manners, eventually resorting to calling her “filthy” and “gross” for cleaning their mess.
The housekeeper, unable to tolerate the abuse, reported the name-calling to her employers. The father reprimanded his daughter, warning her of serious consequences if she continued.
A few days later, the daughter claimed she couldn’t find her phone and asked her father to call it. To everyone’s surprise, the housekeeper’s bag rang with the phone. The daughter immediately accused the housekeeper of theft, but the housekeeper tearfully denied it.
The father checked their security camera footage and was shocked to discover his daughter had planted the phone in the housekeeper’s bag. He apologized to the housekeeper and gave her the rest of the day off before confronting his daughter with the evidence. She was speechless.
The father reprimanded his daughter, condemning her actions as immoral and offensive. Running out of disciplinary options, he decided to make her sleep in the garden, knowing her fear of germs. Despite her pleas and his wife’s objections, he stood firm, believing a harsh lesson was necessary.
Seeking validation, HallNum032 shared his story on Reddit. Responses varied. Some supported the father, agreeing his daughter needed to learn a lesson, though they suggested alternative punishments like house chores or phone confiscation. The father explained he had tried these, but his daughter had gone to extreme lengths to avoid them, even ending up in the emergency room due to low blood pressure from not eating.
Suggestions ranged from making the daughter work as the housekeeper for two weeks to selling her phone and giving the proceeds to the housekeeper. Some criticized the punishment, suggesting it was too severe and manipulative, advocating instead for grounding and cutting off contact with bad influences.
Many commenters felt the daughter’s actions indicated deeper issues, and while the punishment might not immediately change her behavior, it was essential to address the root causes of her disrespect and manipulation.