Dad Who Can't Cook Bashed for Insulting Meal Teen Daughter Made: 'Pathetic'

The debate on the right way to raise children is neverending. Still, it's surprising that Reddit's popular AITA (Am I the A******?) forum is full of parents asking for opinions on... parenting skills.

From the dad who gave away his daughter's clothes, to the mom who made her son eat off dirty dishes, internet strangers are more than willing to pass judgment on questionable parenting decisions.

Redditors unanimously dubbed user u/Western_Ad_3024 "the a******" in this situation, after he shared his plan for teaching his daughter to cook—which horribly backfired.

In a post uploaded on July 3, the dad explained that he and his wife have a 15-year-old daughter named Rebecca. After working for most of her childhood, they were concerned about the teen's life skills.

"I have to admit both my wife and I worked a ton," he wrote. "So we have money and since we were both busy with work we hired a maid and cook to come by twice a week.

"Well a while ago both of us realized Rebecca doesn't [know] how to do much. So we changed what Sara (maid) cleans, no more cleaning Rebecca's room or laundry.

"Rebecca was not happy about this but she needed to learn how to clean up after herself before she went to college."

As well as giving their daughter more household chores, they decided it was time that she learned to cook.

He continued: "Both of us then realized that Rebecca can not cook at all either. She only knows how to make sandwiches and heat food up.

"We really dropped the ball on this so we decided to have her cook dinner once a week."

Initially, the dad's plan seemed reasonable, starting with simple recipes including spaghetti and tacos. However, things started to go awry when he assigned her a notoriously difficult recipe that she couldn't handle.

He explained: "Yesterday I gave Rebecca a recipe to follow, chicken Parmesan.

"She was in the kitchen for three hours making it. I have to admit it wasn't the best and I commented that.

"Rebecca got really quiet and said well maybe if you actually taught me crap instead of throwing me to the wolves each time I could do stuff.

"She picked up her plate and [threw] the food away. I then grounded her and she went to her room.

"I called my sister and she laughed and said I don't even know how to cook either and that I am a** for always throwing my kids head first."

According to a survey by OnePoll, 81 percent of college graduates wish they'd been taught more life skills before leaving school. Of the 2,000 recent graduates polled, 17 percent didn't know how to cook or do laundry, while basic apartment maintenance, such as unclogging their toilet, was an issue for 26 percent of new graduates. Financial matters were also a concern, with three in 10 having never learned to budget.

Another study by OnePoll found that a third of Americans surveyed had no life plan after finishing high school or college, with 41 percent not having a job lined up post-graduation.

Western_Ad_3024's post received almost 8,000 upvotes and more than 2,000 comments, many from Redditors slamming the dad for giving his daughter such a difficult recipe.

In a comment with over 21,000 upvotes, user GreenbriarForHire said: "YTA [You're the A******].

"Not for making your kid cook. For shaming her for it when you did, indeed, throw her to the wolves. And then grounding her when she acted out."

No_princess_leia agreed, commenting: "This is what, her third time ever cooking? And you think she's gonna turn out perfect chicken parmesan?

"As someone who's been cooking for herself and family for over 20 years, chicken parmesan isn't an easy recipe.

"Learn to cook yourself before you start throwing shade at a kid who's trying."

Yokononope wrote: "Your daughter is right. You haven't taught her anything.

"You just said 'right from now on you cook, but not anything easy, you must impress me.' How about you cook once a week and see how well that goes over."

Others suggested that the poster should learn to cook himself before criticizing his daughter's skills.

"You should be cooking WITH her, and teaching her," said VivaVeronica.

"Also, laughing and insulting someone doing something new is pathetic."

While Aggravating_Pirate87 commented: "'I didn't teach my child basic life skills and now I'm mad that she doesn't know basic life skills.'

"AITA for literally not preparing my child for adulthood and getting mad at my child for my mistake?" That's how the f*** you sound."

Newsweek has reached out to u/Western_Ad_3024 for comment.