Dad Throws His Daughter's Dinner In Trash After She 'Disrespects' Him — 'Provide For Yourself'
She was just having a rough day, but he thought that was grounds for taking away her food.
Reddit & Potstock / Shutterstock A man on Reddit got into a bit of a predicament when his teenage daughter caused a fuss during dinner, but before it gets written off as a bout of teenage angst, he was ultimately voted as the “a--hole” in the “r/AmItheA--hole” subreddit forum.
When the 44-year-old single dad realized that his daughter was in a bad mood, he decided to do the unthinkable and had a very poor reaction.
The dad threw his daughter’s dinner in the trash and told her to get a job to provide for herself.
Starting the post, he explains that he is raising his 16-year-old daughter, Audrey, and 12-year-old Emily alone.
He claims that “We have a great relationship but Audrey can sometimes be rude and demeaning, saying cruel things casually when she's displeased about something or in a bad mood.” Any parent of a teen knows that temper tantrums are somewhat inevitable but that doesn't mean parents don't play a huge role in mitigating these behaviors.
“I cooked a nice Sunday dinner and Audrey stormed downstairs in a bad mood for who knows what reason,” he explains. “She was being a downer whereas Emily and I were cheerful.”
“I asked her to improve her mood please instead of ruining the dinner, she turned to me and unleashed her anger.” Have you ever told someone who isn’t calm to calm down? That’s pretty much what he decided to do — break the unwritten rule that you don’t tell someone to calm down when they’re upset.
Naturally, she had an outburst and said something along the lines of, “Can you stop lecturing for once, you're annoying as f--k and seriously you're the one who ruins everything,” according to her dad.
This was when he threw out her food and told her to provide for herself.
“I stood up, took her plate, and dumped it in the trashcan,” he explained. “I told her since she can't bother to show me any basic respect, she should start providing for herself from now on.”
According to Nutrition Care of Rochester, parents shouldn’t use food as a reward or as punishment. “Cutting out food as punishment for your child can make them feel anxious. Your child may worry about not getting enough food or going hungry. As a result, your child may try to eat whenever there is a chance.”
These things can lead to bad eating habits or poor dietary choices, or even more severely, eating disorders. Not only that, but you’re also forcing your child to go hungry.
When Audrey tried to make herself some cereal, he told her that he paid for the milk himself and that if she wanted to use it, she should get a job and buy her own groceries. Once Audrey started crying and ran to her room, Emily told him that he was being a jerk and called him out on the way he acted. She has not spoken to him since.
When the outpouring of support for Audrey came on Reddit, he too admitted his mistakes and realized the error of what he had done.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.