Parenting

I recently read this article about a Dad's strange way of punishing his daughter. His Daughter had written a post on Facebook, complaining about her home life. Her dad found the post and decided that he should punish her publicly. The father recorded himself reading the post his daughter had made and then shooting her laptop 9 times. He then posted the video on YouTube.

Being a teenager myself I think that his punishment is harsh. I would have understood if he just took away her laptop for a period of time, but shooting the laptop was taking it a little too far. His punishment was also very childish. He is supposed to be the one setting an example for his daughter. Shooting the laptop, video taping it, and posting it on YouTube, is something that a teenager would have done, not a grown man with children.

If I think about this as an adult I would come to the same conclusion. Punishment is very important while someone is growing up, especially in the teen years. There are many different ways to punish your child, and I'm not saying he is a horrible father for doing this, but this is not excellent means of punishment. She may not run to a social media site anymore to let her feelings out, but ruining her laptop, which he probably bought, was not the best or only way to punish her. He claims that what he did was "tough love", unfortunately it sounds more like a lack of control.

This day in age everyone has their own idea of healthy(effective) punishment. I think that most people would agree that you need to think before you punish your children. And when you are punishing your teenager you probably shouldn't act like one yourself.