# Is removing a door from its hinges cruel and unusual punnishement for a teenager? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089 "2010-05-11T19:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/21 "2010-05-11T21:09:52Z")
Cruel? Hardly. Unusual? Maybe, but a friend of ours did it when his daughter slammed her door once too often. Sounds like it worked - I think it was a stroke of genius! Kids these days… I didn’t have a room of my own till I got my first apartment!! Pardon me while I go chase some other kids off my lawn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OccamsTaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ec8ea/32.png) [@OccamsTaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OccamsTaser)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/22 "2010-05-11T21:12:53Z")
I think it’s brilliant. Nothing my parents ever tried with me, and I’ve never heard of it before. It would have driven me absolutely insane as a kid, and been very effective. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/23 "2010-05-11T21:14:55Z")
No, I thought it fit the problem. He couldn’t trust his son not to smoke pot in his room. So he makes his son take the door off so he loses his privacy. He won’t have any privacy in prison… And on the plus side he has learned how to hang a door for future reference. My folks did parallel punishments and they worked well. If we left clothing on the floor in our bedrooms we would come home to our bedroom being bagged. That means all of our clothes were in black plastic trash bags at the bottom of the cellar stairs. We had to bring them upstairs and put all of our clothes away. Needless to say we didn’t leave clothes on the floor again. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/24 "2010-05-11T21:18:05Z")
I did it with one of my kids, whose behavior was a lot more self-destructive than smoking pot. Yeah, it seems drastic, but for several months in my younger days I had to share a bedroom with two older sisters, so I don’t consider the punishment to be torture. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/25 "2010-05-11T21:43:14Z")
My eldest lost his door for a week for the high crime of reading by flashlight after being told to go to sleep. It wasn’t so much the reading that was the problem rather than the loss of sleep affecting schoolwork and causing him to fall asleep at school. A week later there was no longer an issue with sleep and he is now a fine upstanding young man in the navy nuke school. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/26 "2010-05-11T22:03:36Z")
Shoot, when I was growing up I wasn’t _allowed_ to close my bedroom door. For any reason. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/27 "2010-05-11T22:26:44Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Based on my upbringing I was always amazed when I heard that kids could keep their parents out of their rooms. How was this done I asked? You just asked them to respect your privacy? 😕 > > My mom would have laughed in my face if I told her that my room was an inner sanctum. > > The only legitimate use of the door was to close it when I had the TV on or when I was studying. The lock could only be use to keep my brother out of my room when I was studying. If it was closed for any other purpose my mom would threaten to get rid of the lock. And a closed door would never stop her from checking up on me every few hours. > > ETA - She would never knock. So you just kind of masturbated in public, then? Ick. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/28 "2010-05-11T22:37:57Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Absolutely no problem at all. Minor kids living in their parents’ house should be given the privacy they prove they deserve. They are inherently “entitled” to none. Yeah, kids don’t deserve fundamental human rights. … On second thoughts, that does sound slightly repugnant. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/29 "2010-05-11T22:50:03Z")
I have an idea, get him a screen door! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/30 "2010-05-11T22:52:39Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Shoot, when I was growing up I wasn’t _allowed_ to close my bedroom door. For any reason. Ever. I reiterate what another poster said–how did you masturbate? really surreptitiously? Anyway, if there’s a really good reason (like staying up late or doing something illegal), then no, but if it’s just to show the kids that they have no rights, then that seems really creepy. I mean…as a parent, do you _want_ to see everything your kid does? The freedom to be able to pick your nose or check for zits or jerk off is a kind of basic thing. It seems like you’d have to be a real fascist to not let your kid do even that. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/31 "2010-05-11T23:05:24Z")
Uh, I don’t wanna hijack this thread, but since everyone’s asking: My parents were (well, are) control freaks. The concept of me having privacy was, quite literally, laughed at. My parents read my diary when I was still stupid enough to keep one … and then yelled at me about my handwriting in it, if that gives any perspective. Suffice it to say our relationship then, and now, is … well, I’ll call it rocky and let it go at that. And, ummmm … I know all the males out there are gonna go :eek:😕:eek:😕 but … I didn’t know \*how \*to masturbate back then. All I can say is, it’s not as intuitive for many girls as it seems to be for guys. That said, if I had a kid, it would take a helluvalot of repeated infractions to make me consider taking away their door. However, the OP says that this is the case, so I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a bad idea, or that it would lead to estrangement once the teen has grown into an adult (as in my case). Just that it’s really, really a last-ditch resort. I just saw the screen door idea - I think it’s a good one!! ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/32 "2010-05-11T23:22:41Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I reiterate what another poster said–how did you masturbate? really surreptitiously? I know that I wasn’t the only teenager who spent more time in the bathroom than strictly necessary from a sanitary standpoint. And I think the OPs friend did a pretty good job - didn’t have to yell at the kid, lay a hand on him or anything else. Five minutes’ work while the kid is at school and problem solved? I’m gonna remember that one. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/33 "2010-05-11T23:35:52Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > So you just kind of masturbated in public, then? Ick. Shower, bathroom, or empty house. Is that the point of letting kids close their doors? So that they can masturbate comfortably while their parents are home? ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/34 "2010-05-12T00:29:51Z")
Growing up, my room didn’t have a door on it at moms place. Infact, I didn’t really have a ‘room’ so much as a section of floor. Mom built her house with an absolute minimum of inside doors/walls. There was a door on the master bedroom, the 2 bathrooms, and in front of the basement steps, and that was it. The upstairs which my brothers and I shared was wide open except for that bathroom. Slightly annoying, but you get used to it. In no way, shape, or form cruel. Which I know because at dads I had a normal room. Having your own room is a really, really, really, really modern invention. Hell, I’m only 31, and one of my friends in high school had to share a _bed_ with his younger brother. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/35 "2010-05-12T00:36:33Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I know that I wasn’t the only teenager who spent more time in the bathroom than strictly necessary from a sanitary standpoint. > > And I think the OPs friend did a pretty good job - didn’t have to yell at the kid, lay a hand on him or anything else. Five minutes’ work while the kid is at school and problem solved? I’m gonna remember that one. Ah. I can only do it lying down (I’m female, if that makes a difference). It’s also why I pretty much never had roommates in college. That, and I just don’t live with other people. In a suite–yes. In a room–no. I just don’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/36 "2010-05-12T00:45:03Z")
> [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](#): > > Yeah, kids don’t deserve fundamental human rights. > > … > > On second thoughts, that does sound slightly repugnant. Having your own private room isn’t a fundamental human right. I don’t think a bedroom door removal is cruel and unusual punishment, either. I’ve seen where incredibly lax discipline is getting my 15 year old niece - her new term of endearment for her mom is “fucking bitch.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/37 "2010-05-12T01:32:13Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Having your own private room isn’t a fundamental human right. That’s not what I said. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/38 "2010-05-12T01:37:22Z")
Cruel? Not hardly. It seems like a natural consequence to me. You abuse the privacy, you lose it for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/39 "2010-05-12T01:54:20Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I reiterate what another poster said–how did you masturbate? really surreptitiously? Forget masturbation – what did you do about _getting dressed_? Yeesh. As for the OP, I don’t see how it’s cruel or unusual. (well, maybe unusual, but that’s not a bad thing) If he needs privacy to change or to jerk off, there’s always the bathroom. Other than that, well, he proved he wasn’t trustworthy, and now he has to suffer the consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089/40 "2010-05-12T02:07:40Z")
I don’t know how this will actually achieve anything. Whatever they’re doing in their room, they can do in someone else’s room, somewhere else. Not to mention, do you really want to see your teenagers naked? Where do they get dressed? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-removing-a-door-from-its-hinges-cruel-and-unusual-punnishement-for-a-teenager/539089.md?page=3)