Social media users have been left conflicted after a man decided to throw out his daughter's dinner when they got into a heated argument.
Taking his situation to Reddit's subforum, Am I The A**hole, the father wrote that he is a 44-year-old single dad to 16-year-old Audrey and 12-year-old Emily.
He shared that he has a "great relationship" with his daughters, but the eldest child "can sometimes be rude and demeaning, saying cruel things casually when she's displeased about something or in a bad mood. Emily (her little sister) looks up to her, often mimicking her behavior which obviously worries me."
The man continued to explain that he'd made a "nice Sunday dinner", but everything exploded when his teenage daughter stormed downstairs in a bad mood.
"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," he penned.
"To quote some of her elegant words 'Can you stop lecturing for once, you're annoying as f*** and seriously you're the one who ruins everything," the father shared.
The parent revealed that he "stood up, took her plate, and dumped it in the trashcan," and informed her that she should provide for herself since she refused to show him "basic respect".
"She said she'll make cereal and maybe I was an a**hole, I said no that's my milk and she should get a job to get her own groceries. I don't feel like I yelled at her, I felt I spoke calmly but when she realized I was being serious, she got upset and started crying and ran to her room," he stated.
He said that they "haven't talked since," and that both of his girls are angry with him, with his youngest daughter telling him that he "acted like a huge jerk," but, he doesn't see it that way.
The comment section was flooded with divided opinions, with some people criticizing him for his behavior. One person wrote: "YTA (You are the a**hole) It is pretty clear where you went wrong as well: 'I asked her to improve her mood please instead of ruining the dinner.' If someone is in a bad mood asking them to not be in a bad mood and accusing them of ruining something is probably not the right approach."
Another person said: "OP never thought to ask his daughter why she was in a bad mood. Just told her to fix it then dumped her food out when she didn’t keep sweet for him. YTA, OP."
A third user disagreed with him and shared their own experience: "My mom used to pull this c*** on me whenever I wasn’t visibly happy or excited enough to suit her. She’d call me a party pooper, even sing a little song about it, and tell me no one wanted to be around a sourpuss. It left me feeling unable to express anything less than positive emotions around people."
Meanwhile, others wrote that the dad is not wrong in his approach, with one user explaining: "All of us have not-so-perfect moments as parents, and this is one of them, but it doesn't make you TA. The few times my kids acted like this, I sent them to their room and told them to come back when they could have a mature conversation. We then have a conversation about their words."
A second user interjected: "Agreed. NTA. Missing one meal is not 'child abuse' Also she’s 16, too old to throw tantrums," while a third person remarked: "I agree. It's really not acceptable for her to speak to her dad like that. I would never have said anything like that to my dad when I was 16 (and being ungrateful for the food he cooks)."
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
