Many believe that the punishment was too harsh…

As parents, we often strive to teach our children right from wrong, but sometimes, despite our best efforts, we fall short. One father discovered that his daughter had been bullying a girl with cancer at school, culminating in her cruelly pulling off the girl’s wig. Angered, the father decided to take matters into his own hands and punished his daughter in a way that sparked a mix of reactions online. After facing a barrage of criticism, he eventually deleted his post.

“My ex-wife and I have a 16-year-old daughter together, and I have full custody since she moved on with her new family. Recently, my daughter got into trouble at school for mocking a student who lost her hair due to cancer treatment, which included pulling off her wig,” he began his post.

“Apparently, there is some pre-existing tension between the two of them, but I don’t believe that even begins to excuse her behavior.”

As it turned out, his daughter was now dating this other girl’s ex-boyfriend, which was the source of their animosity.

“At some point, the other girl insinuated that my daughter’s boyfriend was merely using her for sex. This revelation was a big shock to me as I had no idea she was sexually active. The girl also called my daughter a derogatory name. This escalated tensions, leading to the wig incident. It turns out they had been arguing ever since my daughter started dating that boy. Basically, it’s just typical teenage drama,” the father shared.

Upon learning about the incident and his daughter’s behavior, he gave her two choices as a form of punishment. The first option was to have all her electronics thrown away, and the second was to get a bald haircut. She chose the latter and went to school with a shaved head the next day.

“Everyone thinks I went way overboard. Her mother was furious, saying that this would make her a target for bullying herself. But that was kind of the point—to teach her some compassion,” the father wrote.

While he believed he made the right call, opinions were divided. A flood of comments followed, with many criticizing his approach. One person wrote, “Your daughter is a bully because you are a bully. I seriously doubt this is the first time you used abuse and humiliation to ‘teach her a lesson.’” Another added, “What you did is called child abuse. Taking away her electronics or grounding her would have been appropriate punishments. Humiliating her and disrespecting her bodily autonomy is not appropriate and is unlikely to teach her anything positive. It could even perpetuate more bullying.”

However, some praised his parenting style. “I completely support your decision. As her parent, you have every right to do this. It’s not abusive—it’s real life. If she’s comfortable attacking someone over something they can’t control, she needs to experience how it feels,” one supporter wrote.

Another supporter added, “She will understand the kind of impact her actions have on the victim, and that will teach her a very important lesson.”

What are your thoughts? Do you believe the father went too far with his punishment? Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Cover image: Representational (Source: Getty Images | Photo by Claudia Evans / EyeEm)

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