A father of five has ignited a fierce debate online after sharing a story about how he dealt with his son’s behavior during a recent road trip. Joel Barbour revealed in a viral social media clip that he threw his 13-year-old son Davis’s Nintendo Switch out of a car window while traveling at 60 miles per hour.
According to Barbour, the incident occurred after his son was being disrespectful. The father claimed he had warned Davis that he would discard the console if the behavior continued. When the teenager called his bluff, Barbour followed through, describing the act of “frisbeeing” the device as something that “felt pretty great” in the moment, though he later admitted to feeling bad about the destruction of his son’s property.
The Debate Over Parenting Styles
The confession has split internet commenters, with many parents rushing to defend Barbour's decision as a form of “tough love.” One user noted that “following through on rogue threats is key to successful parenting,” while others shared their own extreme disciplinary stories. One parent claimed they had previously thrown their 16-year-old daughter’s phone out of a car and drove over it, calling it one of their “favorite parenting moves.”
Conversely, some observers used the viral moment to critique modern discipline, with one commenter stating that “gentle parenting is not helping our children.” Another parent mentioned they once “Hulk slammed” a child's PS5 into a pool, though they admitted to regretting the impulse despite the fact that it effectively ended the child's “rage baiting” behavior.
Did the Console Survive?
While the act of throwing the Nintendo Switch from a vehicle at highway speeds would typically result in a total loss of the hardware, the outcome in this specific case was unusual. Barbour confirmed in an update that the family returned to the site, retrieved the handheld, and successfully reassembled it. Remarkably, the console still works.
Despite the functional hardware, the lesson seems to have stuck. Davis, the son, appeared in a follow-up post acknowledging that he learned not to disrespect his parents, noting that if you do, your belongings might end up being “frisbeed in places that you don’t want them.” Barbour remains firm on his stance, telling viewers to simply “throw the electronics out the window.”