What kind of punishment is that????? That's very harsh and cruel! It's the kid's BIRTHDAY for heaven sake.
Miranda should've just grounded him by taking away TV, bike, video games, or sterio etc for 2-3 weeks. That would've been more fair.
Miranda is very unreasonable at times.
Yeah, that is a harsh punishment. Those kids had terrible parents.
shareDaniel wasn't that terrible. You can tell he truly loves his kids. He's just a goofball.
Mrs. Doubtfire bought out the best him and proved himself to be a good parent and house taker.
True. I guess I should say he was a good father but a terrible husband? It's not good to undermine your partner, especially in front of your kids regardless of how harsh the punishment was. It seems like a conversation should have taken place before any final decisions were made.
shareIt's also not nessesary to divorce your husband just b/c he threw a birthday party behind her back.
shareIf you actually watched the movie, you'd know it wasn't just for that reason. It was just one time too many.
shareMicro-aggression. I cannot stand people like you with this "if you actually watched the movie..." crap. Maybe someone has a sick kid while watching the movie. Maybe they got an important phonecall. Maybe they got a work interruption. Who are you to judge, and insist that the viewer remain 100% glued to the TV and comprehend every last detail.
Do you kick your dog too?
He was more than a goofball. Would you seriously be okay with your husband constantly getting fired or quitting jobs, not taking anything seriously, and then acting like he did nothing wrong? Even the kids knew he lost his job AGAIN, and they assumed he got fired.
Seriously, Miranda seemed to make a lot of money on her own since she was able to afford a housekeeper.
Daniel didn't need a job, and I doubt that you would have judged a wife that harshly if she was unemployed.
Besides, Miranda was the one with a constant stick up her ass and refused to talk to Daniel about anything.
A birthday party is a privilege, not a right. It's not like they weren't going to celebrate his birthday at all. She brought home presents and cake. He just wasn't going to have a big party for it. And we also don't know exactly what happened with his grades. Maybe his report card said he was constantly goofing off or talking back.
shareAgree.
My mom first threatened, then took down our Christmas tree two days before Christmas because we wouldn't stop fighting (typical kid fighting - harmless but annoying to adults). She put it back up on Christmas Eve after we went to bed but the lesson wasn't lost on us.
I remember getting a bad report card in grammar school and I lost all TV privileges for the entire marking period. When my report card improved, I got to watch TV again. I'll never forget how *odd* it was to look at a television after almost three months without.
My memories of my childhood remain wonderful. Wouldn't trade my mom or dad for anyone.
EDIT: I had 5 siblings, and we rarely got a full blown birthday party. I had one that I recall, about 5-6 years old. You don't miss what you didn't have. We were middle class but didn't have a lot of extra money. I remember gluing the soles of my shoes so they wouldn't make flapping noises when I walked. My parents replaced them when they could afford it.
You don't know how much that kind of push/pull can affect or traumatize kids though. I'm glad you were tough, but it probably did affect you more than you think.
share..but it probably did affect you more than you think.
Reading your post made me realize something about my childhood. There were many times my parents would cut the cable off due to needing money for other expenses. They would never tell us, so we would be watching TV and suddenly white fuzz xD It happened several times throughout my childhood. But thinking of it, not having TV we found other ways to entertain ourselves and it was through imagination and thinking that we came up with stuff to do. Even built cardboard pirate ships out of a box since we were enjoying a pirate phase. We went out and played army in the woods. We werent glued to the TV too much. Made for better times actually!
I know what you mean, suddenly getting TV back it was strange and also kinda magical to see a show xD
Exactly, if consequences don't hurt, they aren't really consequences. Its probably why so many young kids today are still young kids in their 20s, because parents are afraid to actually discipline.
shareIt depends if the punishment was described ahead of time. If the kid knew there would be no party with a bad report card, fair is fair. If the kid brings home a bad report card and then BOOM, all sorts of bad punishments are laid out, THAT is bad parenting.
Expectations have to be set. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the kid wrecks the car or draws on the wall, there's going to be a punishment. But bad grade punishment needs to be communicated ahead of time. It's better to reward good behavior than punish bad behavior, but I know this isn't always realistic. Depends on the kid.
My father did try to discipline me in my 20s... it did not work.
shareWhat if he.was? I didn't care for Mrs. Doubtfire making them miss Dick.van Dyke to.do.homework.either. TV programmes are on.at fixed times so other things should be fitted round them
Yeah, that was pretty awful.
Even though I fought a lot with my father, my parents would never have done that to me.
How is that harsh? The kid was 12 so most likely in Jr High and he had 3 Fs? If I got 3 Fs in Jr High. I would lose TV, Video Games, Birthday party, Etc....It was not a bad punishment, if anything it was a light punishment. He still was getting presents, Cake, Dinner of his choice, etc. Trust me Miranda went easy on him compared to what my parents would of done if I brought home even 1 F let alone 3.
shareThat's true. Chris even admits that he doesn't do his homework. If he was really trying, that would be one thing, but he wasn't even trying. He was still getting gifts and a cake, just not a big party with a bunch of people. That's better than nothing.
shareBut I don't get why you would have to punish a kid for having bad grades in the first place.
I guess I would talk to my kid and find out if I could help him, but I wouldn't punish him.
However, Miranda decided to not only punish Chris but do it without discussing it with his father.
God how I hate her...
They explain in the movie that his bad grades were because he was being lazy and not doing his homework. I got punished a ton as a kid for bad grades. And guess what? My grades went up. It is one thing if you have one bad grade in a subject that is hard and your having a tough time learning, that is one thing. But to have 3 Fs is by choice and laziness. Miranda may have been harsh, but she was in the right for what she did. Also they did explain that Miranda had talked to Daniel about his bad grades, Daniel just ignored it. Again, Miranda def was too harsh at times in this movie. But punishing for 3 bad grades is not bad.
shareLet's start with that I don't agree with you should punish kids for having bad grades.
It is not like everybody is academically gifted.
And it's clear that Miranda didn't care about Chris anyway as she threw his father out on his birthday.
And I don't remember that she ever talked to Daniel about anything since she refused to talk to him.
Again if a kid is having trouble with classes that is one thing. When I was in School I had huge trouble in Art and Spanish class and it was just hard for me, I did not fail. But I also got bad grades before for being lazy. How would you handle a kid getting bad grades for refusing to study or do their HW then?
share