Parenting

Parent Asks for Advice on How to Punish His Daughter Because Doing the Right Thing Is Hard Sometimes

ParentingPublished Nov 1, 2017
By Genny Glassman
TP'd houseiStock.com/Spiderstock

We all know the Halloween custom of "trick-or-treating." Parents often spend the month of October rushing around costume shopping, decorating the house, and buying giant Costco bags of candy in preparation for adorable kids dressed as Buzz or Dora to show up at their door and beg for a treat. What we often forget is the "trick" part -- which, as one Reddit parent found out, is still a part of the tradition that is alive and kicking. When faced with disciplining his child who had egg'd a cranky neighbor's house with a group of friends, this parent wondered what was the right way to discipline his daughter. 

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This parent knows that his daughter is guilty for pranking a neighbor, but he doesn't know if he should get the other parents involved too.-placeholder
This parent knows that his daughter is guilty for pranking a neighbor, but he doesn't know if he should get the other parents involved too.

This parent knows that his daughter is guilty for pranking a neighbor, but he doesn't know if he should get the other parents involved too.

The dad explained that after an older neighbor refused to give his daughter candy, the girl and her friends took the matter into their own hands by egging his house.

"I asked her if she wants to go and apologize to him and she is scared of him (the man is grumpy and stern). I told her I'll go with her and we'll get it done and she will feel better after," he wrote. "Now I'm just wondering if I should contact my daughter's friends (and parents?) and bring them along too. It's her best friend (12 yo), her 'bf' (11 yo), another boy and two other girls all the same age."

More from CafeMom: Parents Are Judging This Mom for Letting Her Older Kid Go Trick-or-Treating This Year

Many of the commenters thought that he needed to tell the other parents.

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But surprisingly there were plenty of parents who thought that this parent should keep the problem to himself.

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And then there were these parents who thought the old man deserved it.

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Though we have a feeling this isn't the "correct" answer.

No matter what this parent decides to do, it is important to discipline kids when they cause trouble. They need to know that there are consequences for their actions and that they need to appreciate that not everyone shares their worldview. Sometimes, "kids will be kids" just doesn't cut it. 

Would you rat out your child's friends if they pulled a prank together, or would you let the other kids fess up to their parents?

behavior and development
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