We may want to believe our children are perfect, but the harsh reality is that none of them are.
I don’t mean to imply that most parents aren’t doing their job—far from it—but simply that childhood is a steep learning curve, during which virtually everyone will make mistakes they’ll regret in retrospect.
Perhaps what matters most when such things happen isn’t what actually happened, but rather how the child learns from it and moves forward.
This is precisely why we introduce the concept of punishment very early on: a child does something wrong and is forced to face the consequences. This teaches them a simple lesson, and with a bit of luck*, they won’t do it again.
Of course, punishments can vary in severity, from a simple slap on the wrist to methods the offending child is unlikely to forget.
In any case, a father’s choice for his daughter certainly falls into the latter category. She was caught making fun of another student at school who had lost all her hair due to chemotherapy. When her father found out, it’s safe to say he wasn’t impressed.
He decided to take action to ensure she never did it again. He shaved her head so she would know what it was like to be in her victim’s shoes.
Needless to say, his method of reprimanding drew a lot of criticism online, but he wasn’t discouraged. On the contrary, he told CafeMom that he thought it was a perfectly acceptable reaction.
He also told CafeMom that his daughter was dating the other girl’s ex-boyfriend, which contributed to the ensuing drama.
“They were arguing in class about stupid teenage gossip concerning my daughter’s boyfriend. At one point, the other girl said that my daughter’s boyfriend was using her for sex (which shocked me a lot, as I didn’t know she was sexually active) and called my daughter a slut.”
