Father’s Perspective: Punishment or Domination?
He probably thought he was exercising his authority by cutting his daughter’s hair. This is one of the reasons why many traditional parents think that discipline means control and the enforcement of rules. From his perspective, the choice to get highlights without consultation might have been a challenge he could not ignore in his parental role, and therefore responded in the way to reassert his authority.
However, parenting specialists argue that such actions digress from discipline to controlling. Discipline should teach responsibility and consequences in ways in which a child learns. It can only be constructive when a parent teaches independence, showing trust and growth instead of the kind of control through punishment when a child wants to act independently. The experience would make the girl feel dejected and emotionally hurt instead of learning something meaningful.
