Teenagers are notoriously bad listeners. Whether mom and dad are nagging about turning their music down, doing the dishes, coming home before curfew or cleaning their room, it is in a teenager’s nature to rebel. They usually don’t mean any harm, but the words of a parent can go in one ear and right out the other. Inevitably, there will come a time (or many times) where every parent has the opportunity to give their teenager a large, loud, “I told you so!” But not every parent will jump at the opportunity.

One father in Canada, however, recently shared that he took advantage of the chance to teach his daughter a cold, hard lesson about something he had repeatedly warned her not to do. He reached out to the “Am I the Jerk?” subreddit to find out if he was in the wrong, so below, you can read the full story of how his daughter got trapped outside in freezing temperatures and decide for yourself. Let us know what you think in the comments, and then if you’re interested in another Bored Panda story featuring parents attempting to teach their kids lessons, check out this article next.

This dad is wondering if he was wrong for leaving his daughter outside in the cold to teach her a lesson

Image credits: Chandre D’Oliveira (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Sarah Blocksidge (not the actual photo)

Readers wanted a few details clarified, so the father shared more information in the comments

There is nothing wrong with teaching teenagers lessons. If they don’t listen when they have been told something repeatedly, sometimes they have to learn the hard way. But I would guess that at the moment this girl realized she was stuck and needed to call her father, the lesson had been learned. I would be shocked if she would ever put herself in that situation again because she was probably embarrassed to call her dad for help. Thankfully, the father clarified that she was dressed appropriately for the freezing weather, but there is a fine line between teaching a valuable lesson and choosing to leave your child in danger. It is likely that the same outcome could have been reached (the teenager never going out on the roof alone again) without freezing out in the cold for two hours. 

Some commenters thought that teaching the teenager this lesson was harmless

Let’s not forget that cold weather can be dangerous. Even if you live in Saskatchewan and are used to freezing temperatures, you still need to be prepared for them. If she had not been wearing a proper coat, gloves, a hat, etc. she could have easily developed hypothermia or frostbite. According to Everyday Health, at -8 degrees Celsius or 18 degrees Fahrenheit, people start to be at risk of frostbite within 30 minutes, depending on the wind chill. And once someone reaches the realm of hypothermia, they are in serious trouble. “Hypothermia is a medical emergency,” Dr. Glatter, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC, told Everyday Health. “As your body temperature drops, your heart, brain, and internal organs cannot function. Without aggressive resuscitation and rapid rewarming, you will ultimately not survive.”

The father in this story made it clear that his daughter is fine and he got home in time to help her out. But I can see why his co-parent and girlfriend were upset. Even taking a chance that his daughter could be left in harm’s way out in the cold seems like too big of a risk, but he seemed confident, and apparently he was right, that she would be okay based on what she was wearing. How do you feel about this situation? Do you think the daughter deserved to learn a cold, hard lesson or was her father being a bit too harsh? We would love to hear your thoughts down below. As for me, I’m just glad it’s currently summer because the thought of having to wear a winter coat again is making me shudder.  

While others thought the father was being too harsh

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