When one 13-year-old boy landed a detention for “refusing” to present his school project, his dad thought something didn’t add up.

After a little prodding, the kid revealed the real reason he couldn’t take the stage that day—and let’s just say it wasn’t by choice.

Read on for the story.

AITA for not allowing my son to be punished after he refused to do his school presentation?

My son “George” just turned 13 this month.

George is very bright, projected to get 8s or 9s in his GCSEs, and regularly achieves these grades in his mock exams and assessments.

But he struggles socially and has been bullied badly in the past.

Things are better now, but he isn’t popular.

As part of his PD class, he had to create a children’s toy and give a sales pitch to the class.

Last Friday was the presentation day, and George was really excited.

He’d put a lot of effort into his toy and the presentation.

Ah, the classic ‘teen toy pitch.’

But I got a notification saying George had been given a C3 (after-school detention), something he’s never received before.

As he’d refused to participate in class and didn’t do his presentation.

When I picked him up, I could tell immediately that he was upset.

I asked him what happened and why he didn’t do the presentation.

He said he didn’t refuse the presentation; when it was his turn, he asked to go later.

His teacher said no, and that he had to do it then or get a C3.

George said he “couldn’t do it now,” but didn’t explain further when asked, so he was given the C3.

I kept pressing him, worried that maybe he was being bullied again.

Eventually, he told me the real reason: he had a random e******n just before his turn and, no matter what, it “wouldn’t go down.”

Timing is everything, especially when it’s the worst possible timing.

With that info, I think George’s request was perfectly reasonable.

He didn’t refuse to do the presentation—he simply asked to do it a little later.

Obviously, he didn’t want to explain the reason in front of the whole class when the teacher asked him.

His mum was really angry with him for getting the C3.

I explained what happened and said I didn’t think George was wrong.

I said I’m not supporting the detention and would pick him up at the normal time.

When I told his mum what happened, she looked disgusted and said something like, “Why did he even have one in class to begin with?”

I explained that random e******s happen, especially in early puberty, and they don’t always relate to indecent thoughts, which is what she was assuming.

She replied, “Well, I’m not sure that’s true,” dismissing what I said.

So I told her, “You might not be sure, but I am.”

Sounds like Mom missed that chapter in Parenting Teens for Dummies!

She insisted we needed to present a united front, along with the school, and that by going against her, I was sending George the wrong message.

I asked why her way of handling it was automatically right and why I should be the one to concede.

It escalated into a big argument, which we haven’t had in years.

She’s saying she is going to punish him for refusing when it’s her week with him next week and that I am being an AH for “going against her.”

Her mother text me saying I was setting a bad example for George by letting him get away with being disrespectful to his teacher.

Which he wasn’t even, just asked to do his presentation later.

I respectfully told her she should mind her own business, and that George was my son.

But now I’m worrying whether I’ve done the right thing, and I need some outside perspectives.

With an unexpected lesson in teenage biology, Dad stood firm, refusing to punish George for something beyond his control.

Now, Mom thinks he’s undermining her and the school by going soft on discipline.

The question is, who’s really in the wrong?

This person thinks the teacher is the AH.

And this person thinks Mom is the AH.

Whoever is the AH, it’s certainly not Dad. In fact, he’s the hero.

When puberty strikes at the wrong time, should a detention really be the punishment?

No one on here thinks so.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.