Yes I agree to teach our kids to be respectful and also agree it’s not the parents place to get involved in this situation. Teaching our kids to be respectful also means we model this ourselves. For this father to tell Melanie’s mum that she is not special and that he doesn’t care about her daughter were in my opinion comments he shouldn’t have made

I agree with the father that we that have to stick our noses in our teenagers love relationships or break ups unless they reach out to us to pour out their hearts and ask for advice.
Reading the article we can assume his son didn’t do this.
For the mother of your son’s ex girl friend to reach out to this father is very strange. For the father to respond to her that he doesn’t care about her or her daughter is quite a hurtful comment to make. It would be better if he would have remained neutral and polite.

Not a parents place to get involved in this situation, however always teach kids about respect, care, consideration of others. This should be instilled into kids from day 1 by parents, carers teachers.

I don’t think it’s a parents place to insert themselves in this situation. Teaching respect and being considerate should be a constant thing done throughout their growth, and you can only hope they will use what you’ve tried to instill in them. A huge part of your teens is learning new social situations.

I think the Mum should have collected the sweater and not have spoken about the breakup with the bf’s dad. Her job is to be there for her daughter, to reassure her that not all relationships are the same, and that when a relationship doesn’t work out, it’s for the best. As for the bf’s Dad, what a nasty comment to make about a young girl. If his son is anything like him, yikes!

I do agree that we as parents shouldn’t get involved in the break up from the relationships of our children, but do think our kids may need coaching till a certain age (depending on their maturity). I don’t agree with the statement made by that father that the ex girlfriend of his son wasn’t special and find this statement hurtful. To be honest everyone is special in my opinion

If either parent gets involved it will cause grief for all concerned. They are young adults now and can handle things themselves. Yes, you need to be there for your child as a shoulder to cry on if needed and nothing more. Believe me, if you intervene it will only cause friction between you and your child.

While I support staying out of your kids’ relationships, they do sometimes need coaching in how to interact with other people, especially situations that require a combination of standing your ground and being aware of the others’ feelings. So I think maybe he shouid check in on how his son voiced his feelings, ie initiated the breakup, in case a bit of feedback would be good.

I personally think he’s done the exact right thing. The sweater was an excuse to give him grief and he has clearly dealt with this behaviour before. As adults we don’t always get the truth or closure to all relationships and we’re not entitled to it. If someone wants to end a relationship, that’s that. Often people don’t care and the assumption that they will won’t serve anyone well in life.

Definitely could have been handled better by both parents. I get her concerns and perhaps if it were discussed differently, the response would have been different too. End of the day, i get why he chose not to intervene. Kids feel old enough to date, they need to be old enough to take accountability for their choices too.

I think using the words ‘not special’ is a bit hurtful, but I do agree with the father in this. It’s highschool. they’re kids. Some relationships last only a couple of days or a week or two, some are longer. If they one child decides they don’t want to date anymore, it’s their business. At least he didn’t do the wrong thing and cheat on her!

It sounds like you weren’t told the full story maybe? I would certainly at least check with your son about how he went about it and what was said. There are always two sides. You need to at least have a discussion with him about respect & kindness. Treating people the way you want to be treated.

If the boy was not rude ending the relationship, then he is not wrong. I personally think teenager relationships create “tunnel vision” and youngsters need to circulate and meet as many people as they can. Breakups are never easy though and I can understand the girl feeling unhappy but she has to realise such an early relationship is bound to break up. I am sure she fill find another boyfriend in good time and when it is meant to be.

I would need more information.
How did the boy end his relationship with the girl? Was he kind and respectful?
To tell someone that you dont care about how their daughter feels sounds very nasty and I hope that the boy wasnt acting the same way as the Dad when he ended things.

Also; respect and consent is essential in all relationships and if there is any type of violence or control then parents and authorities must step in otherwise parents should stay out. It is important to teach children and young people the skills to navigate relationships and expect healthy and respectful ones.

I agree with the dad, don’t get involved in their relationships. If the son needed the dad he’d say so. That dad would know if he needed to steep in but by the sounds of it there was no need.

Ouch! That was way harsh

My daughter broke up with her BF a few months ago and his mum rang and abused her. It is not our place to meddle in their love lives. They will have many breakups, it’s part of life

Ouch! Parents should not be involved in these romance breakups. The girls’ Mum should not try and get the Dad of the boy to take her side. They are High School kids and both of them need their parents support without having to put up with arguments from their parents. Good on Dad for sticking up for his son.

I think the parents need to stay out of it but there’s no harm in having a private conversation with your teenager, talking about the right way to treat others and being considerate of other’s feelings