Should you snoop through your teenager’s messages?
Personally speaking, sometimes it would do more help than harm. Like in this case, a single father canceled his daughter’s concert plans after he read her messages about sneaking in illegal things. He vented out the incident on Reddit because he wondered if he was morally right for doing what he did following the course of events.
The Reddit post went viral, receiving over 13.4K upvotes and 3.8K comments
The single father starts the post by saying that he has three children. Of them, the eldest is a 16-year-old girl. He and his daughter get along well as a teenager and parent, and she is usually responsible, so he never had issues with her.
He explains that their Apple iCloud IDs get mixed up repeatedly, and everyone in the family ends up getting each others’ messages. Typically, he would just delete the threads when he sees they aren’t his. But this time, he read, ‘we should be able to sneak it in if we hide it well’, which aroused his suspicions. He opened the thread and found out that his daughter and her friends had planned to sneak in illegal things (for their age) like al***ol, dr**s, and mo**y (something he doesn’t understand). Terrified out of wits, he scrolled up and learned that the girls were planning to wear ‘revealing outfits’ that he said might as well be ‘un***w***s’.
The father-of-three quickly realized that the teenagers were talking about a music fest his daughter was talking about. She purchased the ticket with the money she earned, so he didn’t bother much.
Teenage Years are Hard for Parents as well as Children
Teenage is a confusing time for children as they deal with a changing body, developing a sense of independence, surging hormones, pressure to find identity, and striving to be accepted. Parenting children during this age can be stressful and exhausting, but parents or guardians must stay strong and guide them during this challenging phase.
Kids during their teenage develop an urge themselves or, due to peer pressure to try illegal substances. Some teenagers will stop after trying them once, but others might develop an addiction, causing harm to themselves and others.
The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry believes parents can prevent the ‘bad’ from happening by communicating with their teenagers regularly, discussing illegal substances and their side effects, and recognizing problems at the beginning.
The Single Father Forbad His daughter from attending the Concert
Naturally, the single father freaked out. Initially, he thought of letting his daughter go after checking her bag. But then he realized that she could collect whatever she wanted on the way or ask her friends to bring them.
After a lot of pondering, he forbade her from attending the concert. And the father-daughter duo aren’t on speaking terms because of that.
Now, she is asking him for reimbursement, and he explains that he can’t pull out $300 from his wallet for a concert ticket as he runs his family on a tight budget.
Conclusion
Several Redditors applauded the dad for taking a strong stand and guiding his daughter.
“She may think you are a bad person, but you’re protecting your child and enforcing totally reasonable rules,” one of them said.
“Sneaking in illegal stuff could cause her and her friends huge problems if caught,” another added.
What Do You Think?
Should the father reimburse his daughter even if it could cause issues in the household? Or should he consider it as a punishment for her trying to use illegal substances behind his back?
Share your thoughts below. And if you like this story, share it with your friends and family.
Disclaimer: This article is for education and information purposes only.
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