'Bitterly' Disappointed Dad's Email to Children Goes Viral

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**Frazzled**

Very long link to story points here

'Bitterly' Disappointed Dad's Email to Children Goes Viral
By Christina Ng | ABC News Blogs – 21 hrs ago

A retired British naval officer's scathing email to his three adult children about his bitter and frustrating disappointment in all of them has gone viral with its eloquence and biting honesty.

Nick Crews, 67, of Plymouth, England, sent the letter to his two daughters and son to express his deep disappointment in them and their life choices.

"We are constantly regaled with chapter and verse of the happy, successful lives of the families of our friends and relatives and being asked of news of our own children and grandchildren," Crews wrote. "I wonder if you realise [sic] how we feel - we have nothing to say which reflects any credit on you or us."

He criticized them for failed marriages, lack of maturity and their inability to provide for their families.

"Fulfilling careers based on your educations would have helped - but as yet none of you is what I would confidently term properly self-supporting," he continued. "Each of you is well able to earn a comfortable living and provide for your children, yet each of you has contrived to avoid even moderate achievement. Far from your children being able to rely on your provision, they are faced with needing to survive their introduction to life with you as parents.

"The predictable result has been a decade of deep unhappiness over the fates of our grandchildren," Crews wrote. "If it wasn't for them, Mum and I would not be too concerned, as each of you consciously, and with eyes wide open, crashes from one cock-up to the next."

Crews said he and his wife were sick and tired of listening to their children's complaint and failures. The children are 35, 38 and 40. The disgruntled dad wrote that he did not want to hear from his offspring again until they had good news.

"I can now tell you that I for one, and I sense Mum feels the same, have had enough of being forced to live through the never-ending bad dream of our children's underachievement and domestic ineptitudes," he wrote. "I want to hear no more from any of you until, if you feel inclined, you have a success or an achievement or a REALISTIC plan for the support and happiness of your children to tell me about."

His last sentence before signing the letter was, "I am bitterly, bitterly disappointed."

Crews sent the email in February and his eldest daughter Emily Crews, 40, recently asked him whether she could make it public in order to create some buzz while she works on a book about starting over.

The former commander has since told London's Telegraph that he does not regret sending the email, but fears it might have been misinterpreted.

"It wasn't meant as a furious dressing-down; more like a finger raised to my lips in church, when I spotted them picking their nose or scratching their bottom, down the pew from me," he told the paper. "I was trying to express my frustration at these wonderful grown-ups who had yet to make the best of what they had. They have read the criticism, but not seen the enduring love through the lines."

He paused before adding, "I haven't done well as a father, have I?"

Emily Crews is reportedly the only child still speaking to her father after receiving the letter.

"It was horrendous receiving that email from my father," she told London's Daily Mail. "What he said in his email was quite correct, but I don't think it was the right kind of support or the kick up the backside he intended it to be. I think he has created a monster out of the worst of us and ignored the best."

Also Read

**ENOZONE**

They need a motivational speech, like this:

Spoiler:

Pay Special Attention at 3:13 to 3:30 - Close your eyes and imagine it, it's very powerful and could just be the wake up call they need.

**sarpedons-right-hand**

This story broke over here around a week ago, it made me laugh then and it makes me laugh now!

**Frazzled**

Frazzled' Sr's words of advice on occasions when I was whining.

"Suck it up, no one cares, least of all me."

**InquisitorVaron**

Sounds like my parents bar somethings even if they screwed it up for me

At least he's honest, but goodluck funding your own care home when your of that age, and don't expect for a good funeral.

But heh it takes balls.

**MeanGreenStompa**

Upper class twits being called on it by their dad.

daughter Emily Crews, 40, recently asked him whether she could make it public in order to create some buzz while she works on a book about starting over.

Telling indeed...

More of these foppish malingerers and their chattering class bs need dragging into a dark corner and getting kicked about the tenders.

**AustonT**

I'm pretty sure he doesn't give two gaks about a care home. I think the best part is where he says, "I haven't been a very good father have I?" but there seems to be the indication that his children have ample education and a decent role model. It's not his fault his kids are gakkers.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
For clarity "gakkers" is the one that starts with a T.

**Frazzled**

MeanGreenStompa wrote:
Upper class twits being called on it by their dad.

daughter Emily Crews, 40, recently asked him whether she could make it public in order to create some buzz while she works on a book about starting over.

Telling indeed...

More of these foppish malingerers and their chattering class bs need dragging into a dark corner and getting kicked about the tenders.

I suddenly have new found respect for MGS...

**whembly**

Frazzled wrote:
MeanGreenStompa wrote:
Upper class twits being called on it by their dad.

daughter Emily Crews, 40, recently asked him whether she could make it public in order to create some buzz while she works on a book about starting over.

Telling indeed...

More of these foppish malingerers and their chattering class bs need dragging into a dark corner and getting kicked about the tenders.

I suddenly have new found respect for MGS...

Ditto... cheers

.

**MeanGreenStompa**

We'd get them coming into the pubs in Cornwall... Grown adults in their 30s, 40s and even 50s without a fething clue, all aspiring novelists and artists and photographers come to 'discover themselves' or some such bollocks.

Tepid bastards with no backbone and no hard work in them. They'd have their wealthy parents buy them a big house that decent working people couldn't afford in the town and then they'd start trying to sell driftwood framed mirrors with shells glued on for seven hundred quid or black and white pictures of ripples in the beach sand for an equally silly amount. Then they'd sidle up next to you in the pub, tell you about how gak their life was because mater and pater wouldn't fund this 'amazing project' they envisioned and what a terrible life it was, after I'd just pulled a shift in Child Protection and wanted to drown my brain in beer quietly.

feth them all to hell.

**InquisitorVaron**

AustonT wrote:
I'm pretty sure he doesn't give two gaks about a care home.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Someday he might.
Just disown them he didn't need to make a song and dance about it.

**Frazzled**

MGS, a right lefty snogger, but my kind of guy.

(if snogger is actually a word that I didn't just make up, thats not what it means)

**MeanGreenStompa**

Snogging is British slang for kissing, although according to the urban dictionary, a snogger is a person who desperately wants mulder and scully from xfiles to 'get it on'...

?

**Ratbarf**

Someday he might.
Just disown them he didn't need to make a song and dance about it.

You see it seemed to me that he loved his grandkids and only really had a problem with his own kids.

Plus disowning a child is complete horseradish from my point of view. Just because you say something or sign a piece of paper doesn't make them any less your child. Sure you can be horrendously disappointed or angry and never talk to them again, but they're still yours.

**AlmightyWalrus**

Is it wrong that the part I hated the most about the article was the [sic] after the correctly spelt "realise"?

**AustonT**

InquisitorVaron wrote:
AustonT wrote:
I'm pretty sure he doesn't give two gaks about a care home.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Someday he might.
Just disown them he didn't need to make a song and dance about it.

At 67 he's already a doddering old dribbler. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing.

**CuddlySquig**

Oh, another one of these stories huh? Put it over there with that laptop with the bullet holes in it.

**InquisitorVaron**

AustonT wrote:
InquisitorVaron wrote:
AustonT wrote:
I'm pretty sure he doesn't give two gaks about a care home.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Someday he might.
Just disown them he didn't need to make a song and dance about it.
At 67 he's already a doddering old dribbler. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing.

Middle age over here, your healthcare is holding your old age back, that and Maccy D.

**Monster Rain**

That guy is my hero.

**Hulksmash**

Why write in an email? In may family you get a phone call when they're disappointed in you

**Frazzled**

MeanGreenStompa wrote:
Snogging is British slang for kissing, although according to the urban dictionary, a snogger is a person who desperately wants mulder and scully from xfiles to 'get it on'...

?

Wow thats all kind of wrong.

I'll restate as my mo would say. He's a real bastard but he's my kind of bastard.

**Squigsquasher**

CuddlySquig wrote:
Oh, another one of these stories huh? Put it over there with that laptop with the bullet holes in it.

I heard about that, and heard the video (didn't actually see it because it was on my sister's phone). I wanted to punch that man. I hate parents who think just because they are the kid's parents that they deserve their undying love and respect. He should be asking himself "where did I go so wrong that my own daughter expresses her hatred of me on Facebook?". I have similar feelings about this guy.

Saying that, I am biased as my dad is a total arsehole.

**Tazz Azrael**

Squigsquasher wrote:
CuddlySquig wrote:
Oh, another one of these stories huh? Put it over there with that laptop with the bullet holes in it.

I heard about that, and heard the video (didn't actually see it because it was on my sister's phone). I wanted to punch that man. I hate parents who think just because they are the kid's parents that they deserve their undying love and respect. He should be asking himself "where did I go so wrong that my own daughter expresses her hatred of me on Facebook?". I have similar feelings about this guy.

Saying that, I am biased as my dad is a total arsehole.

I saw the video and the guys daughter was a complete spoiled rude brat, and lazy as all feth. She threw a pissy fit whenever she was asked to help out round home and told him they have a maid for that (was really the aunt or something who helped out every now and again)

On topic. Good on this guy, more useless little feths (no mater what age) need a wake up call sooner or later, and 9 times outa 10 if its your parents giving you the wake up call its for a glaringly obvious reason.

**MeanGreenStompa**

Plus laptop killer's brat was a child.

These fethers are adults in their 30s...

**InquisitorVaron**

I'd be a one in ten then, I'm being told off for not being in schooling even when then know my previous school took away all my GCSEs back to four so I couldn't go to college.

All because I spoke out about maltr

eatment, talk about idiocy

**rubiksnoob**

InquisitorVaron wrote:
I'd be a one in ten then, I'm being told off for not being in schooling even when then know my previous school took away all my GCSEs back to four so I couldn't go to college.

All because I spoke out about maltr eatment, talk about idiocy

Just for us Yanks that don't know, what are GCSEs, and how does them being taken away prevent you from getting into school?

**Tazz Azrael**

That and I swear a sack of bricks is more intelligent then i am at times so could you elaborate on what those GCSEs are?

**Avatar 720**

Hulksmash wrote:
Why write in an email? In may family you get a phone call when they're disappointed in you

Probably because there's no room to interject or talk over someone in an email, nor the ability to hang up part-way through. In a phone call, he'd first need to make three seperate ones, allowing the first reciever to warn the other two unless it was some sort of conference call, and he'd also need to catch them both at home. He'd then have to get his point across without any of them slamming the phone down on him, or interjecting and simply shouting over him to say "YEAH, BUT...!".

My mum's family's weapon of choice is an email for exactly those reasons.

**hotsauceman1**

I know a guy like this, Since rest of his family lives at home he figures he can too, Which is fine at his age.
But he doesn't has any aspirations for schooling jobs like the rest of his family.
Just that he wants to go on his "Mission"
And he is the kicker, the reot of his family lived apart from his parents at on point and fell on hard times.

**AustonT**

InquisitorVaron wrote:
AustonT wrote:
InquisitorVaron wrote:
AustonT wrote:
I'm pretty sure he doesn't give two gaks about a care home.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Someday he might.
Just disown them he didn't need to make a song and dance about it.
At 67 he's already a doddering old dribbler. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing.

Middle age over here, your healthcare is holding your old age back, that and Maccy D.

I'm sure you realize the difference in life expectancy between the UK and the US is less than 2 years and that in either country 67 is well past middle aged.