Father Takes Away Teen Daughter’s $15K Savings for College as Punishment

A father faced the unthinkable when his teenage daughter committed a deeply troubling act. In a stunning twist, he made the agonizing decision to confiscate her $15,000 savings for college. But the question lingers: What could drive a loving parent to take such drastic action?

In June 2020, an anonymous poster turned to Reddit's "AITA" forum to share his story. The narrator, then 31, and his ex, 32, had their daughter, C, 16, when they were very young but maintained a friendly co-parenting relationship. One crucial rule they both upheld was that their daughter had to take responsibility and pay for anything she broke.

The narrator and his then-27-year-old sister were the only grandkids in the family, as their aunt never married. Instead, their aunt had worked alongside their grandparents in their seamstress store. Eventually, she took over the store when her grandparents retired.

The narrator's sister had a girlfriend, then 29, who had proposed the year prior. His grandpa had generously offered to create a custom suit for his sister's partner, which filled her with joy. On the other hand, his grandma discreetly asked the narrator to find out what his sister's dream wedding dress was.

The narrator decided to penalize his daughter for her insensitivity.

Believing it was a private conversation, the sister shared intricate details about her dream dress. However, she mentioned it was too expensive and planned to get something more affordable. Several months later, the original poster's grandma surprised his sister with her dream wedding dress, which fit perfectly and moved everyone to tears.

What Did the Daughter Do?

Tragedy struck when OP's grandmother passed away around the time he shared his story on Reddit, leaving the family in mourning. Despite her grief, his sister cherished the wedding dress her grandma had given her as a symbol of her presence at the then-upcoming wedding.

The crisis unfolded when the narrator's daughter, C, who was much larger than his sister, requested to try on the dress during a visit. When OP's sister politely declined, C reluctantly dropped the topic.

Later, while the siblings were briefly away, disaster struck. C attempted to wear the dress, damaging it significantly in the process. Instead of seeking help, she resorted to cutting her way out, leaving the dress in tatters.

Upon discovering the dress's ruin, the narrator's sister was devastated and asked the family to leave. He grounded C and reached out to his aunt, who confirmed that the dress was beyond repair. Shockingly, it was revealed that his grandma had dedicated nearly 500 hours to hand-sew the dress with expensive fabric, making it a cherished family heirloom worth approximately $12,000.

An update revealed that the narrator had discussed the matter with his ex-partner, who learned from C that the destruction had been intentional. C admitted that her anger over the grandma's absence led her to sabotage the dress. She felt it was unfair that OP's sister received such a beautiful reminder from the grandma when she received nothing, despite the many things given to her after the funeral.

C revealed that she tried on the dress and then took it off, but the seams popped. In a fit of anger, she hacked it apart, believing that if she couldn't have a dress from grandma, no one should. These revelations left the family grappling with the cruelty of the act, and they decided to enroll C in therapy to address her actions and emotions.

Why Did the Father Choose Such a Punishment?

The narrator decided to penalize his daughter for her insensitivity. C had approximately $15,000 saved for college, earned from various jobs and writing competitions. Faced with her deliberate destruction of the cherished wedding dress, her father took a drastic step. He transferred $12,000 of C's savings to his aunt for a new dress and allocated the remaining $3,000 for his sister's wedding as a form of emotional distress compensation.

In a candid conversation with C, he explained the reasons behind this decision, but she sobbed throughout the process, claiming it wasn't her fault. He countered, stating that she should have respected the boundaries and not attempted to try on the dress after being denied permission. A few popped seams could have been mended, but the dress's hacking was irreversible.

C shared her feelings with her mother, who eventually agreed that C was in the wrong once she heard the whole story. However, despite their established rule, she believed that C's father had gone too far by taking away her future for a "free" dress.

The $3,000 allocated for the sister's wedding was seen as a way to compensate for the emotional distress caused by C's actions. OP considered it part of the price incurred due to the destruction of a significant gift from their late grandmother.

The father also explained the family dynamics, highlighting his early parenthood and his daughter's size, which contributed to the dress's unsuitability for her.

The story concluded with the father expressing gratitude for the offers of assistance from seamstresses and sharing updates about his sister's health, which had deteriorated due to the stress caused by the incident. The fate of the $3,000 intended for his sister's wedding would depend on her recovery and C's acknowledgment of her wrongdoing after therapy.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you agree with the daughter's punishment for deliberately destroying the dress? What penalty would you choose for your children if they committed a similar act?