Let's make this clear: responding to your teenage child's words with violence is NOT OKAY.

[TheWraith]

14. It makes absolutely no difference to me who it was or how it was done.

In fact, I'm the owner of several guns and very much enjoy using them to destroy things. Catch is, I confine myself to blowing apart cinder blocks and clay pigeons, not other people's property. The laptop after all being his daughter's property regardless of whether HE paid for it. But whether he shot it, kicked it, or smashed it with a baseball bat, not only was he destroying his daughter's property, he was also showing that he was both willing and able to respond to her words with unthinking violence. And yes, that's exactly what it is, whether one chooses to recognize it or not. He could have just taken the laptop away for awhile, he could have sat her down and explained to her why he was angry with her comments, he could have found other ways to deal with the situation. He didn't do any of those things. His message, even if he didn't intend it that way, was "I don't like what you said, so I'm going to lash out violently."