We speak to the dad who pranked his daughter into critical thinking after she damaged his Nintendo Switch

Valuable lessons in critical thinking and cross-checking information were imparted through a prank that only an enterprising dad can cook up. 

After his 13-year-old daughter inadvertently cracked the screen of his Nintendo Switch console, Barney took the opportunity to teach her the value of doing extensive research before approaching a deal. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, the 45-year-old father mentioned that his daughter was initially unaware of the damage, as she left it inside a bag. He found out about it soon enough but was glad that she owned up to her mistake and offered to pay for repairs.

The thing is, she had not taken a closer look at the damage — it was the console’s screen protector that got cracked, not the actual screen itself. Getting that fixed was easy as replacing the glass screen protector with a new one from Shopee at $2.99.

But that information wasn’t shared with his daughter just yet. 

“I need my child to learn the lesson well,” he told AsiaOne, adding that the discussion was held on WhatsApp as he wanted evidence of the negotiation before he could teach her a pricey lesson. It’s probably apt that he’s an avid Dark Souls player then — with pain comes knowledge. 

As such, the daughter performed her own research online and initially offered $60 as compensation for the damage. When pointed out that the cost of Nintendo’s official repairs would cost $150, father and daughter eventually agreed to a payment of $88.

Barney’s wife, who was privy to his scheme, tried hard to lower the cost of the settlement, but he "winked a lot at her”, signalling for her to go along with the whole thing, he said.  

The screen protector was already replaced by the time he received the cash from his daughter, garnering a huge profit after just paying $2.99 on Shopee. The screenshot of his purchase was sent over to his daughter afterwards, eliciting a flurry of responses. A deal was made — the father would return the money once the teen delivered a solid analysis of what went wrong and what she should have done to avoid the supposed scam. 

And she did, writing an essay’s worth of self-reflection and what she has learnt from the entire affair. Though her mother had noted on the WhatsApp chat that Barney was playing golf, he clarified that he was actually playing Golf Clash, not real golf. 

Since Barney shared his story on Facebook on Tuesday (Nov 10), the post has garnered over 1,500 shares and more than 140 comments. As for his daughter’s feelings about the aftermath of his viral post, Barney says that she has been “damn chill”. 

“I think she's more worried about her assignment and homework, but her St John seniors found out and I think the school mates will know by now,” the father laughed. 

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ilyas@asiaone.com