Mad Dad wrote:
To make a long story short, I smashed my son's Xbox with a hammer because he's been disrespectful almost constantly for the past year+.
He's 14, and I know he's been going through a lot lately (going to be a freshman, his mom and I got a divorce in November and had been fighting a lot before then). However, the things he's been doing and saying are absolutely unacceptable. He nearly got expelled at the end of this past school year for texting nudie pics of a fellow student to other students). This summer, it seems like all he does is sit in his room and play Xbox. I had been warning him that I was going to smash the Xbox with a hammer if his negative behavior/disrespect continued. After the latest incident (told me to "shut up" after I asked him to help with the dishes), I did just that. While I had been threatening this, I didn't actually intend to do it. I just felt such rage when he disrespected me that I just went ahead and did it, while he begged me not to the whole time. This was on Sunday night.
He hasn't spoken to me since, and I'm questioning my decision to smash the Xbox. He's basically been in his room the whole time with the door locked. I haven't even seen him come down for food/water, but I'm not at home during the day. He'll be going to his mother's house for the next two weeks starting on Thursday. I tried to explain why I had smashed the Xbox through the door, but he didn't respond or come out. I'm afraid he hates me, but I felt like I had to teach him a lesson. Any advice on what I should do? I will not be getting him a new Xbox.