In the midst of a snowstorm and negative temperatures, a family faced a difficult situation involving their daughter’s boyfriend.
Despite the dire weather, the boyfriend, who is 17 years old, drove to the family’s house to visit his girlfriend, who is 16 years old. However, as he was about to leave, he discovered that his car door had frozen shut, and he could not get in.
The father offered to pay for an Uber ride home, but unfortunately, no drivers were available due to the inclement weather.
The boyfriend then asked if he could spend the night and attempt to defrost his car door in the morning. However, the father was uncomfortable with him staying the night, as he was not allowed to do so under any other circumstances. And as the original poster (OP) of this thread, the father, stated, those circumstances also included inclement weather.
“He asked if he could stay the night and try to defrost his car door in the morning. That obviously wasn’t happening; he’s not allowed to stay the night under any other circumstances, so why would this time be any different.”
As a result, the boyfriend had no choice but to walk home in the snowstorm, which was only a 15-minute journey on foot.
The Aftermath.
Even though the boyfriend made it home safely, OP’s daughter remained upset with her parents for making her boyfriend walk in such harsh weather conditions. She felt they were inconsiderate and that anything could have happened to him.
On the other hand, the father believed he had made the right decision since the boyfriend was not allowed to stay overnight. Additionally, he felt that a 15-minute walk in the cold weather was not a significant risk.
OP is now asking the Reddit community if he made the wrong decision. While his daughter remains upset with him, he doesn’t believe his decision jeopardized anyone’s safety that night.
Abeyita asked a very valid and important question to OP that had over 16K users nodding in agreement,
“Would you have been okay with your daughter walking home alone in those conditions?”
Others agreed that OP’s decision was not in the boyfriend’s best interest and that he should trust his own kid more to respect boundaries in these exception scenarios. Mmoct said,
“OP put that kid in danger anything could have happen to him. 15 min walk on a clear night is one thing, but in a storm, I’m guessing it took him a lot longer than 15 min to get home. Let the kid sleep on the couch, and trust your own kid, to respect boundaries you set out.”
There’s Always Another Option.
Other parents in the thread jumped in and suggested several alternatives that could have left all parties feeling safe and happy that night.
LionelSkeggins says,
“Drop the kid home. I treat my children’s friends with the same care I provide my kids. Run them home, and make sure they’re safe.”
ThereAreAlwaysDishes says,
“I wouldn’t be comfortable with the sleepover situation, but if it was a 15-minute walk, as OP said, I would’ve walked with him to make sure he was safe. Conditions that bad also mean poor visibility, which is dangerous for pedestrians as well, so it would’ve made sense to grab some flashlights and put reflective tape on our jackets and backs of our boots.”
No_Hospital7649 blames all adults in the situation, saying,
“I do wonder why the boyfriend’s parents let him drive or why a call wasn’t made to his parents to come get him. It seems like every single adult failed this kid. There’s a lot going on here that we don’t know about, but somehow it ended in a minor being kicked out of the house into subzero temperatures in dangerous driving conditions.”
The Verdict
In retrospect, it’s easy to see both sides of the argument. The father was trying to follow household rules, and he believed that a 15-minute walk wasn’t a significant risk. On the other hand, the daughter was worried about her boyfriend’s safety and felt that her father was inconsiderate.
The Reddit users clearly announced their decision calling OP out for making a poor decision in this decision. The boyfriend and daughter are not at fault for being upset with OP, as his actions showed an apparent lack of compassion for the boyfriend.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Was the OP from this social media post wrong?
Featured Image Credit: SergIllin /Depositphotos.com.
This article was originally published on Ash & Pri.
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