A father said 'something very bad' could have happened to their son
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A man who claimed he was in a fight with his wife after she locked their 16-year-old son out of the house as punishment for drinking is receiving support on Reddit.
User "Dadthrowaway788" asked subscribers of the "Am I the A--hole" (AITA) subreddit to weigh in with his recent post asking if he was wrong "for freaking out when my wife locked our son out of the house at night after he drank alcohol?"
In the post, the dad, 39, explained that he and his wife, 40, have a 16-year-old son — and that although the incident occurred a few days ago, he said, "she's still mad at me."
"I was on a work trip so my wife was at home with our son," wrote the father.
"When I got back, I found out that he had been hanging out with his friends and they convinced him to drink some beer and he got a little drunk," he said.
"I'm not saying what he did was right, but [he] and I had a talk about it and it's fine."
A man said his teenage son had a few beers with his friends and came home drunk — which is why the boy's mother locked him out of the house for the night. (Jam Press)
His wife, however, was considerably more upset.
"When he came home and my wife found out, she was furious and kicked him out and refused to let him back in until the morning," wrote Dadthrowaway788.
"He was begging her to let him in, but she wouldn't."
The dad said he was "furious" when he found out that his son was locked out overnight.
"She just kept saying that it's our son's fault for drinking alcohol."
"Regardless of what he did, she made a slightly drunk teenager stay outside by himself at night. Something very bad could have happened to him," he added.
The father also noted that he and his wife "had a huge argument over it."
"She just kept saying that it's our son's fault for drinking alcohol," he wrote.
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As a result of what transpired, Dadthrowaway788's wife "isn't really talking to me now — and my son isn't talking to his mom."
And while he wrote that he feels like he is in the right, the man also asked others on Reddit to share their opinions of the situation.
People overwhelmingly sided with the Reddit poster, who was angry at his wife for locking their son out of the house. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On the AITA subreddit, people can reply to posts and indicate the poster is "NTA" ("Not the A--hole"), "YTA" ("You're the A--hole"), "NAH" ("No A--holes Here") or "ESH" ("Everyone Sucks Here").
Users can "upvote" good replies and "downvote" those they do not find helpful.
The post has received some 29,000 reactions to date.
"Her punishment does not show him any consequences of getting drunk."
Fox News Digital reached out to a clinical psychologist for insight.
Said Dr. Jayme Albin, PhD, of New York, "When it comes to parenting and teenage drinking, parents need to keep their emotions in check and not put the lesson of safety on the back burner or in jeopardy."
She added of the mother mentioned in the post, "While [her actions] might signal she’s upset with what her son did, it put her child’s safety in a vulnerable state by locking him out intoxicated — but her punishment does not show him any consequences of getting drunk."
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Dr. Albin added, "How about a few hours of community service at a homeless shelter?"
Most of the 5,000-plus responses to the situation said that the dad was "NTA" — and that he was right to be concerned about his son's well-being and how the teen's mistake in judgment was handled.
A top commenter on the family drama said the user's son is "not the first 16-year-old to show up at home drunk." (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
"NTA. Leslie Mahaffy, a victim of serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, was locked out of her house by her parents the night they kidnapped her," said Reddit user Real-Weird-2121 in the top-upvoted comment, referring to a crime that occurred in Canada 32 years ago.
Mahaffy was 14 years old when she was kidnapped in mid-June, 1991. She was later found dismembered. (Her parents stated that they did not intentionally lock their daughter out of the house, said multiple sources.)
Real-Weird-2121 suggested that Dadthrowaway788's wife research the case. "I bet she never locks him out again," said Real-Weird-2121.
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Another top commenter noted that Dadthrowaway788's son is "not the first 16-year-old to show up at home drunk."
User Butterbeary added, "Giving him a lecture is fine. Locking him outside is not. He is a minor."
The writer also said, "Safety should still be considered — that is one of your tasks as a parent."
"He needs to know that he has someone who isn't going to hate him for making a mistake."
Still another person pointed out that getting locked out of the house could deter the son from asking his parents for help in the future.
"NTA. His mother has just insured that he will never call her for help for anything if he needs it," said user Payne2588.
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"And in saying that, I really hope he understands that he can call you," the user added.
"He needs to know that he has someone [in his life] who isn't going to hate him for making a mistake."
Another commenter wrote, "You two [parents] need to talk and get on the same page as far as discipline goes so you have a set of consequences and rules you are both comfortable with."
In follow-up remarks, Dadthrowaway788 wrote that he planned on having another talk with his wife.
Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
