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

[moriah]

127. Actually, yes.

Last edited Sun Feb 12, 2012, 12:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Just like the parents who have made their kids stand on street corners wearing signs detailing their wrongdoing, the humiliation is part of the intended punishment.

I really don't think this man intended to harm his child. When I first saw this story, though, my first thought was, "What did that poor laptop ever do to you?" I guess some people have more money to waste than I do. (I have a friend who did something similar - though not with a gun - to his daughter's Xbox, and I felt much the same.)

Edit to add: my friend used a very large hammer on the Xbox. The infraction? She was not doing her homework. A hammer may have other uses, but if violence against a treasured object is a metaphor for violence to the person it's pretty darn similar.