My Ex Risked Our Daughter’s Health for … a Photo Op?

A reader asks for permission to scold her former husband (and his current wife).

My ex-husband invited our 19-year-old daughter to spend a long weekend in Las Vegas with him, his wife and their children. She was excited to go. She asked him how to pack, in case she needed dressy clothes. He told her to pack for hot weather and outdoor activities. After arriving, she discovered they weren’t going to Las Vegas at all. They drove to Zion National Park for several days of hiking. But my daughter has heat-induced asthma, and her father knows this! Hiking in 107-degree heat is a health risk for her. When she asked to stop, they refused and she was raised not to argue with them. So she overused her rescue inhaler. Later, she discovered they intentionally misled her about the trip because they feared she wouldn’t come, and they wanted a family picture for their Christmas card. Please tell me I can call them out? MOM I get your distress, Mom. But I am much more concerned that your young adult daughter has been raised, as you say, to acquiesce to the demands of others rather than to look out for her own well-being. Your (justified) anger about this single episode is small potatoes compared with that.