What does this silence mean?

Question

My dad "ordered" me to bring the TV controls to him, even though he'd only been waiting a few seconds. My mum told Dad to respect my rights, to not attack me, and don't bark at people, but she did it, in a soft, quiet voice. I repeated the words to my dad, but he ignored me, and seemed to go into a kind of "autistic" shell.

Answer 1

Your dad was obviously in a bad mood.  When your mom scolded him in front of you it undermined his authority.  When you repeated it it just made it worse.  He probably felt like he was being attacked and to be silent was better than dealing with it rationally.

Answer 2

it means that he disapproves of the situation. perhaps he was just in a bad mood, which had nothing to do with you.

Answer 3

you may have disrespected him by repeating what your mother said.

yet he remained silent. this just means that he was trying to control his anger. or he was doing what your mother said.

why don't you just ask him and sort things out? He may feel better if you apologize.

Answer 4

He's giving you a bit of his authority :). It's a good thing; he's saying that although he doesn't want to accept it, he's acknowledging that there are other people whose feelings should be taken into consideration :). Your mom was right to have stood up to your dad but in a soft, quiet voice, as a loud one will not have provoked such a response in your dad, instead, he might have yelled back. Basically, it doesn't mean he's mad at you or that he's autistic, but that he's acknowledged that you and your mother alike are both equally important and that his needs do not come before yours.

This is a very intriguing question, by the way :D.

Answer 5

It could be that your mum stood up for you, a lot of parents are meant to put up a united front and he expected her to be on his side, i expect his pride has been hurt a bit, he should start talking soon enough xx

Answer 6

he's annoyed that he can't tell you what to do so much now. simple. plus he obviously respects your mother and doesn't want to hurt her, so he just shut up.

Answer 7

Uhm, how did you know he had been waiting?

Anywho, it wasn't nessecary for you to repeat the words back to him - That was kinda disrespectful in itself.

And it would seem he's not the type of person to get angry at the people he loves.

Your mother's approach was the better one, it showed consideration for his feelings, something you seem to have ignored.