Dad faces backlash over ‘disappointing’ decision on daughter’s birthday: ‘She’ll remember this forever’

A father is being called out on social media — and by his wife — for not doing enough on his daughter’s birthday.

The dad took to Reddit’s “Am I the A******” forum for validation but he did not receive it. The issue arose when his wife was away for his daughter’s birthday. He was tasked with handling the festivities but his 15-year-old daughter insisted she wanted nothing. So he did nothing. 

“My daughter (Thea) turned 15 last Saturday and due to the pandemic, we couldn’t really celebrate it,” he wrote. “I asked her a few days before if there was something special she wanted to do and she said no. On the day of her birthday, I asked her if she wanted me to order cake and she refused that too. She’s introverted and doesn’t like making a big deal of things so I let it be. She spent most of her day talking to her friends on call and I cooked a nice dinner for her and my son.”

Usually, his wife organizes a birthday for their daughter with cakes, dinner and gifts but she was staying with her mother due to health issues. 

“The next day, on call she asked me what I did for Thea’s birthday and when I told her my daughter didn’t want a celebration she blew up on me,” he said. “According to her my daughter is ‘too shy’ to ask for things and doesn’t like asking people to make a fuss about her birthday. She was very angry that I didn’t even buy cake even after I repeatedly told her Thea said she didn’t want cake. According to her, these are things that should be done without asking. I would like to mention that my wife coddles my children a lot. I thought that was the end of the conversation.”

Then later that day his brother-in-law (BIL) dropped off a cake and presents. 

“He jokingly said to me, ‘what kind of father doesn’t buy cake for his kid’s birthday?’ I told him the same thing again and he said that having your birthday during the pandemic was horrible enough and I should have just bought some cake,” the father explained. “I agree it is but she said she didn’t want it! It’s been annoying me a lot. I hate how both my wife and BIL keep implying that I don’t know what my own damn kid wants.”

Reddit users felt the father shirked his responsibilities here.

“As a shy kid she probably didn’t want to annoy you. It’s sad that you didn’t go out of your way for her birthday or do anything for her, how disappointing for your daughter,” one user commented

“You had better be thinking of how to make it up to her because she’ll remember this forever. The damage is done but you can still show her that people can at least try to fix their dumb f****** mistakes,” another said. 

“My dad did this stuff to me — I also refused, not because I didn’t want a cake but because he made me feel like a burden,” someone wrote

If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s article on the teenager who pranked her mom with an elaborate, multi-year stunt.

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