A father elicited more than 23,000 reactions and over 3,900 comments on social media for deciding to cancel his 14-year-old daughter’s therapy sessions after she showed no improvements in her academic grades.
A 14-year-old girl had been struggling with anxiety since she was a young child. Her issues recently worsened, causing her to stop eating and speaking to her family and friends, and her grades plummeted.
In order to address the problem, the girl’s parents took her to therapy, where she was diagnosed with severe depression and social anxiety.
After several sessions, the girl began to show signs of improvement and was able to eat and communicate with her family and friends again. Everything seemed to be returning to normal.
However, the original poster (OP) was not particularly happy with the results. He paid “$120 per session” and wasn’t seeing any progress in her school test results. It made him feel like he was “wasting” his money, considering she had already “returned back to normal.”
OP noted that his daughter really enjoyed going to therapy but insisted that she needed to get higher grades to continue the therapy sessions. He hoped this would motivate her to work harder, thus improving her score.
However, her grades did not improve, leading OP to cancel therapy sessions as he felt it was a waste of money seeing no progress in his daughter’s grades.
The mother wholeheartedly disagreed with this decision, but due to the OP’s insistence, the therapy sessions were canceled.
The daughter was deeply upset by this and begged her father to keep going with the therapy sessions. However, he remained firm in his decision.
The parents are now in disagreement over whether or not the girl should continue with therapy as it was originally prescribed. The wife wants to use her “own money” to pay for the daughter’s therapy, and OP is disappointed by this.
This situation has caused tension between the family members. Despite the disagreement, the parents will need to work together in order to find a resolution that is best for their daughter.
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Reactions From Social Media
The father’s decision to cancel his daughter’s therapy session due to her lack of school progress sparked debate online.
Many people shared their own experiences with mental illness and the importance of continuing to seek professional help. The consensus was that OP was in the wrong.
“I don’t think you understand how depression works,” one user commented, receiving more than 47,000 “upvotes” for their response. “It sounds like all you care about are her grades and not that she gets to a better place mentally.”
“Exactly!” one user responded with 11,000 upvotes. “He thinks depression is something you switch on and off or that works like the flu; you take the medicine, and you’re fine.”
Someone replied. “You canceled your daughter’s therapy that was helping her because her grades were bad? And you think she’ll do better and improve her grades now?”
“You’re an a—ole… You’re using your daughter’s mental health as punishment?!” one person said, receiving more than 8,600 upvotes for the response.
“I’d pay every dollar I have to see my daughter heal and feel better; who cares about the grades,” one user said. “Also, depression is not something you switch on and off; saying things like ‘now that she’s back to normal’ clearly means you know nothing about depression.”
Taking All Points into Consideration
In the end, OP apologized to all those affected by his commentary. “I deeply apologize for my ignorant replies and for hurting so many people. Please know that I had no intention of offending anyone, and it was so upsetting to see how mental illness has affected many of you,” he said. “I hope you guys can overcome this one day. I have talked to my wife, and her therapy sessions will continue.
This story, Am I Wrong for Canceling My Daughter’s Therapy Because She Has Bad Grades? was produced and syndicated by TPR Teaching. Source here.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.
