I go along with the majority, Mrs. Polerius is a witch! Burn her!
Actually I have some sympathy. I remember when I found out my oldest son had arrived at the mistaken belief that his dad wasn’t the smartest, strongest, coolest guy on earth. It hurt a little. This will pass.
FYI, things are better today.
Thanks for all the feedback.
Or climb ladders a lot.
Regardless of how the mother should feel, there’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “When Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” A teenage daughter should write her a letter in which she identifies all (or at least a lot of) the things her mom does for her or the family or the house and how much she appreciates all these things and hopes she’ll do as well when she’s an adult.
I couldn’t disagree more. It isn’t the daughter’s job to make Mom feel good about herself, so why the hell should she be punished by writing a fucking letter to make her mother feel better? Mom needs to be the grown-up (perhaps by taking a long hard look in the mirror–the silent treatment? Really?) and, as others have pointed out, it’s no wonder the daughter looks up to Dad and not Mom.
My parents always said they could’ve been shining examples, but instead chose to be the horrible warning. They usually said this drunk.
So yay for the OP’s wife: she is teaching by being the horrible warning! Lesson 1: how not to behave when confronted with something that makes you a teensy bit sad.
Anyway, having A Role Model is weird. Nobody is perfect. Have different role models for different things. Despite their best efforts, my mum is my cooking role model, my papa is my science role model. There you go, problem solved. The OP has flaws and mum probably has some qualities, hidden beneath the immature huffiness. A flair for the dramatic, perhaps.
Exactly, a teenaged daughter favors her dad rather than her mom. News at 11.
Also: The Simpsons did it. Too bad The Simpsons isn’t on Netflix. You could cue that episode up and make her watch it.
I remember as a kid having my “favorite” parent flip-flop several times, and chances are good that your daughter has done the same thing.
Was it non-PC to say this in front of your wife - Sure.
But who the heck expects teenagers to be rational and PC?
You chose the word “familiar” on purpose, didn’t you? And the answer is yes.
Remembering that other people have feelings is “PC”?
That’s silly. Saying her father is a role model is not saying anything negative about her mother. The mother is acting insecure and immature. I can see being disappointed by not being the first one that her daughter thought of at that very second, but to not speak to them is ridiculous.
Why does the child’s age matter? She answered a question. Who is your role model? My dad. Nothing is said about mom. It doesn’t matter what age she is, a compliment to one is not an insult to another and acting as though it is, is immature.
The child’s age tells us how well she can be expected to understand and consider other people’s feelings.
Also, do we know the wording of the question? Was it, “Who do you consider your role model?” or was it, “Which of your parents do you consider your role model?” Yes, it matters.
When I was about four, my uncle asked me, in front of my mother, “Who do you love more, your mom or your babysitter?” At the time, I was spending more time around my babysitter, because my mother worked evenings, so I answered without thinking - my babysitter. As soon as I said it, and saw my mother’s expression, I felt terrible.
I was four and couldn’t be expected to know ahead of time what impact my answer would have. The culpability lies squarely with my uncle for asking such an unfair question. If I’d been a teenager, I could have been expected to at least consider my mother’s feelings and use tact.
Speaking as a parent I can to a point understand the hurt feelings BUT this is where being a ‘grown up’ and a parent should happen. Rather than showing she was hurt and not talking to you or your daughter perhaps praising the fact your daughter chose her own dad as a role model would have been better. As for your wife being re-assured emtionally I think apologising to your daughter would be the next step. YOU are the parent you should be makng your daughter feel loved, it’s not your daughter’s job to be the parent, if this is a ‘normal’ reaction from your spouse what message does that bring to your daughter? That said if your wife is that upset by it perhaps you should discuss it all together (obviously no idea what age your daughter is) have you asked why she chose you?
Glad to hear it.
Rewrote the sentence twice to get the perfect word 
No it doesn’t. Her saying her father was her role model does not say anything about her mom. To miscrue is and make it about her is silly and imature. If she said Opera Winphrey, would she have acted like this?
I can understand some dissappointment IF she were asked to pick between her parents, but her reaction is silly. Your uncle asked an unfair question, but that placed your babysitter in front of your mother. This is mother/father stuff. I feel badly for a woman that is so insecure that she reacts this way and I hope she finds a way to feel better about herself.