“I Really Don’t Care”: Dad Is Praised For Punishing Bully Son With Vegan Meals
“My family and friends are all calling me abusive,” a concerned dad wrote in a now-viral post on the AITA subreddit. It turns out, this is because of his unusual way of disciplining his 16-year-old son who bullied his younger sister for going vegan.
“Last year, my daughter decided to go vegan. I didn’t have any problem with this one bit,” the dad wrote. For some reason, his son took this change as an opportunity to bully his sister, and understandably, this didn’t sit well with the parents.
After one such incident, the parents felt like their son had crossed the line in mistreating his sister so they decided to punish him accordingly. That meant a newly implemented menu that made the boy just lose his mind.
Now, after being condemned by his relatives and friends, the dad wants to know if his mode of punishment wasn’t a step too far.
Recently, a dad asked if he went too far by making his son go vegan for a month as punishment after he mistreated his vegan sister
Image credits: Dan DeAlmeida (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Adrian Swancar (not the actual photo)
To find out an expert’s take on this situation, we spoke with Susan Petang, a certified life coach who runs The Quiet Zone Coaching. Susan is helping those who struggle with stress to find relief, manage their fears, and build self-confidence so they can wake up happy in the morning.
“The word ‘discipline’ means ‘to teach,’ not, ‘to punish.’ I think this was a really creative way for the man to teach his son a lot of lessons!”, Susan said.
According to her, there are many lessons to teach the young man: “Bullying and teasing others is inappropriate behavior; It’s OK for other people to have differing viewpoints from yours; Trying new things helps you learn about other people, other cultures, and other ways of life, making you a better person; Understanding why others do the things they do helps us develop compassion.”
Many people expressed their support for the dad in the comments
Flip the script here. He isn't punishing his son, he's showing solidarity with his daughter by chosing to only buy vegan for a month. He didn't tell his son he can't eat meat or dairy, he just said he won't be providing it. He's literally putting the son in the daughter's shoes "this is dinner, if it isn't acceptable to you you are welcome to prepare your own meal
Exactly. I think punishment is the wrong word to use here. And who knows - maybe trying a vegan diet for a month will end up being an interesting experience for the whole family.
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NTA. Messing with someones food is always a d**k move. OP should also consider having each teenagers prepare dinner for the family one day a week, with oversight if necessary. It sounds like the daughter can cook for herself, but the son will also really benefit from being able to cook healthy meals from scratch. My parents got us doing this from age 12, and I've always really appreciated having the confidence and experience to cook. My younger brother has used his cooking (and cookie-baking) skills to impress friends and girlfriends since he was a teenager.
While I really don't like that vegan food is used as punishment, I find it perfectly fine that the whole family goes vegan for a month. It's a cleear sign of solidarity. Teh guy is 16, for chrissake, not 6. He can stuff himself with hotdogs at a friend's place, if he needs his meat so desperately.
Flip the script here. He isn't punishing his son, he's showing solidarity with his daughter by chosing to only buy vegan for a month. He didn't tell his son he can't eat meat or dairy, he just said he won't be providing it. He's literally putting the son in the daughter's shoes "this is dinner, if it isn't acceptable to you you are welcome to prepare your own meal
Exactly. I think punishment is the wrong word to use here. And who knows - maybe trying a vegan diet for a month will end up being an interesting experience for the whole family.
Load More Replies... NTA. Messing with someones food is always a d**k move. OP should also consider having each teenagers prepare dinner for the family one day a week, with oversight if necessary. It sounds like the daughter can cook for herself, but the son will also really benefit from being able to cook healthy meals from scratch. My parents got us doing this from age 12, and I've always really appreciated having the confidence and experience to cook. My younger brother has used his cooking (and cookie-baking) skills to impress friends and girlfriends since he was a teenager.
While I really don't like that vegan food is used as punishment, I find it perfectly fine that the whole family goes vegan for a month. It's a cleear sign of solidarity. Teh guy is 16, for chrissake, not 6. He can stuff himself with hotdogs at a friend's place, if he needs his meat so desperately.
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