Just a few decades ago, the topic of mental health was frowned upon, so it’s an improvement to see that parents are accepting these things about their kids now. However, there are a few parents who hold their kids accountable for their actions despite their mental struggles.
Just like the original poster (OP), whose 15-year-old daughter has severe social anxiety, but she refused to get her a service dog after the teen injured an old dog just to recreate an online video. The mother is also making the teen look for a job and pay the vet bill, but her husband disagrees!
More info: Reddit
It's an improvement to see parents accept the mental struggles their kids are facing and do something about it
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster's 15-year-old daughter suffers from severe social anxiety, so her therapist has recommended getting her a service dog
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: Frames For Your Heart / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
When the poster left her daughter with her sister-in-law, the teen was alone with the woman's old dog, whom she injured while recreating an online video
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: MrDm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The teen also didn't feel guilty about it as it is an old dog from a shelter, so she thinks it has "no value," which horrified her mom
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Now, the poster is making the teen get a job to pay for the dogs' vet bills, and she is no longer getting a service dog for her daughter
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster's husband and daughter feel like she's being unreasonable to ask her to pay off the whole bill, knowing of her social anxiety
Image credits: anonymous
However, the poster refuses to budge as she thinks it's the result of her daughter's actions, so she should be responsible for it
In today’s story, we come across a tragic incident that rocked this family after what their teen did to a poor, old dog. The poster tells us that her daughter has severe social anxiety to the point where she homeschools the teen, and with a therapist’s help, they’re slowly trying to get her to go to school, so the therapist suggested getting a service dog.
Although it was a big responsibility, OP agreed as her daughter really wants a dog. Fast forward to the day when the poster left the teen with her sister-in-law, who asked her to look after her old dog for a while. That’s when all hell broke loose as the teen left the poor dog on the house roof to recreate an online video. It was so scared that it pooped out of fear and eventually fell down into the pool.
The mother was absolutely horrified after she learned of the incident and quite hurt when the teen didn’t feel guilty about it as it was just a “shelter dog with no value.” She immediately told the teen that she wouldn’t be getting a service dog, and as the old dog injured its ribs and paw, OP also demanded her daughter get a job and pay the vet bill.
Of course, she faced backlash from the teen and her husband as she would have to get a face-to-face job with her anxiety. The therapist also urged the poster to get a service dog, and now OP is questioning her decision. She still feels that it was the teen’s actions that led to the whole fiasco, so she should responsibly pay off the vet bill instead of depending on her parents to do it. Besides, will anyone even trust her with a dog now?
Folks online were also horrified by how things turned out, and many of them told OP that her daughter’s behavior was not normal at all. They were equally alarmed by her apathy towards the dog and also advised the poster to find a different therapist as nobody would encourage her to get a dog after what happened—like this one did.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
To gain deeper insight into the matter, Bored Panda reached out to Muskan Sharma—who has previous experience working as a counselor—for an interview. She mentioned that teens with social anxiety don’t usually lack empathy, but they might struggle to understand emotions in real life. She also claimed that if they spend most of their time online, they may not fully realize how their actions affect others.
“Social media can influence a socially anxious teen a lot. It gives them a place where they feel safe, but it can also show them harmful trends or make them less aware of real-life consequences. If they don’t interact much with people in real life, they might copy things they see online without thinking about the impact.
“Watching upsetting or harmful content online can change how a teen sees animals. If they often see animals being treated badly for fun, they may start thinking it’s normal. Since they don’t have much real-world experience with animals, they might not understand their feelings or value,” Muskan noted.
Speaking about the psychological factors and why the teen may have struggled to see the consequences of her actions, our expert narrated that a teenager’s brain is still developing. She stressed that anxiety can also make it harder for them to think about other people’s feelings, and if they avoid real-life situations, they may not learn how their choices affect others.
Given this situation, we asked Muskan whether a service dog would still be beneficial for the teenager’s mental health. She mentioned that it could still help with the teen’s anxiety, but only if she can show responsibility and care. “Before getting a dog, she might need more therapy to learn about empathy and taking care of others. The dog’s well-being is just as important as the teen’s,” she concluded.
Well, it looks like the teen could really use some empathy lessons from a good therapist. At least the concerned mom is trying her best to make her daughter a better person, so hopefully, the teen will learn. What are your thoughts about it? Do you agree with the Redditors’ verdict? Let us know in the comments!
Folks online were highly concerned about the teen, and they stressed that there was something severely wrong with her
