‘Going out with my father is embarrassing': Teen opens up about strained relationship with parent

Independent Singapore

3 days ago

SINGAPORE: For most people, spending time with a parent might be comforting or fun, but for one teenager, it's the exact opposite.
Posting on the r/SGexams subreddit on Sunday (Jul 27), the teen shared that being alone with her father is often an uncomfortable experience.
'Going out with my father is embarrassing,' she wrote. 'Like, let's say we are going to get something, and then he sees the price and gets mad that it's expensive and talks loudly. Of course, that attracts people's attention to look at us, right? Like, if it's only us, we don't talk one sia, legit silent.'
She also mentioned that her father sometimes shouts at her without any clear reason. In one case, she said he scolded her over the phone just because she took a bit longer than expected to return home after buying food.
Moreover, she added that her relationship with her father is quite distant. They hardly speak unless her mother and brother are around, and she doesn't usually approach him for help.
'I don't look for him when I need help. Like, whenever I want to buy something, I either send it in the group chat and ask my mum, because if I ask him, he would say he has 'no money.' Like, I really don't get why he can't just talk nicely. Even my grandma doesn't like talking to him. I swear, he's only okay when I'm with my mum and brother,' she wrote. 'Count yourself lucky that he is not the kind that demands money or borrows money.'
In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor shared that he was going through a similar experience.
'Wah a lot of stuff that you mentioned, like how you and he are silent when you guys are together, or when asking him to do something, you don't ask him to do it directly. Same for me also lol,' he wrote. 'My dad also has a really bad temper, and I can't stand it also. To the point that now I'm older, I don't even talk to him unless I really need to.'
Another commented, 'Same. At this point, I ain't talking to him. He is abusive and mean. Like, literally, you want me to do well for exams and be a good child when bro is like this.'
A third remarked, 'Well, count yourself lucky that he is not the kind that demands money or borrows money from family without returning it.'
In other news, a young lad recently confessed on social media that he struggles to understand why his girlfriend, who is rich, beautiful, and academically brilliant, has never walked away from him despite his flaws.
In a lengthy post on Reddit's SGexams forum, he shared that he and his girlfriend come from completely different worlds.
'I'm from a single-parent, low-income household, currently studying in a mid-tier JC (junior college). I wear thick glasses, look pretty average at best, and spend most of my time buried in books trying to survive A-levels and break my poverty cycle,' he wrote. 'She, on the other hand, is rich and hot. Her GPA (grade point average) in poly is a perfect 4.0.'
Read more: 'She could be with someone who has more time and money' — Man wonders why his rich, beautiful GF never gave up on him