Blog
Father Shoots Daughter's Laptop!
Many have seen the You Tube video, "Facebook Parenting for the Troubled Teen", in which a father actually shoots his daughter’s laptop. Well, apparently, he shoots her laptop because she went on Facebook and said some very disrespectful things - using very foul language - about her parents and her life.
And now, suddenly, this father is famous and making the news across the country because parents across America are thinking that finally, a parent has taken control of the situation and actually did something that might stop or intervene in their teen’s bad behavior. Many parents are also saying this is “too extreme” and “over the top” or that the parent is “out of control”.
Really? The dad who lives in North Carolina admitted that he should not have been smoking when he made the video or used some of the words he used or called his daughter stupid. He admits to being visited by law enforcement and by the Department of Children’s Services who interviewed both he and his daughter separately. It’s possible that this father – even with all of his mistakes – may have intervened in his young daughter’s life as well as his own in time to make the biggest difference possible. He connected and he clearly and concisely took action to create an opportunity to connect and communicate with his daughter face to face without technology. This could be the beginning of a new and better relationship and interaction with his 15 year old daughter.
Was it done in a very public way? Yes, but it is a great lesson for parents and children to realize that everything we do on Facebook is done in public and we can’t take it back. If we are going to live and rant out there in cyber space, we need to remember it is public and there is no right to privacy. There are so many lessons and teachable moments in this video that they cannot be counted and should not be ignored or laughed at.
Despite his foul language, his smoking on camera, and his discharge of a dangerous weapon, the father makes some good points. But in his rant does he really have the answer to the question about what parents need to do in order to be active in their children’s lives?
I think there are many parents who will never see what their young teens post or make public on web sites like Facebook. Do you think parents would follow his lead if they did see it? Would or should they intervene?
Published on February 20, 2012 at 7:27 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments