History Main / WasTooHardOnHim

** ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'': Iona Hikawa/Cure Fortune, also a MyGodWhatHaveIDone. She spends the whole first half scolding and being mean non-stop to Hime/Cure Princess for her DarkSecret [[spoiler:of opening Axia and freeing the Phantom Empire, which led to the downfall of her older sister, Maria Hikawa, A.K.A. Cure Tender]], declaring she would never forgive her for it, even going as far as trying to turn Megumi and Yuko against her to team up with her. Then she recieves a good dose of BreakTheBadass (at the cost of a set of powers.), coupled with an AwfulTruth behind Cure Tender's fall. Later, after that , when she learns why Hime opened Axia, she regrets being hard to her when she tried to tell her many times and she apologizes to her for it.

* ''Manga/Evangelion303'': Misato chews Asuka and Mari out for starting a private duel during an important training mission. Although the berating was deserved, Asuka's self-confidence is very fragile, -it shattered once after another reprimand- [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/2056814/021/ and Misato wondered later if she had not been too hard on the girl and if she should smooth things over with her.]]

* ''Fanfic/WeightOffYourShoulder'': Tikki wanted to mold Marinette into an {{Ideal Hero}}ine, and constantly scolded her whenever she made any mistakes or got distracted by problems in her civilian life. This wore down Marinette's self-esteem to the point that she became convinced she was nothing but a FailureHero, spurring her to give up her Guardianship (along with [[LaserGuidedAmnesia all her related memories]]) and pass the Earrings on to another. Said successor proves to be [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor just what Tikki wanted]]: somebody so singularly devoted to being a hero that she has nothing ''beyond'' being Ladybug. This spurs Tikki having a JerkassRealization about demanding too much of her holders.

* In ''Fanfic/TheLongingverse'', Rainbow Spectrum wonders this after he tells Rainbow Dash that she will never become a Wonderbolt. [[spoiler: By the time he goes to apologize, she had ran away to Cloudsdale.]]

" In ''Fanfic/TheHaterGoodG2'', Angry Old Raisin wonders if he was too harsh saying he hates Pig all the time.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries':

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** In ''Turning Over A New Bayleef'', Ash's Bayleef kept constantly hugging and tackling Ash, and he ends up yelling at her for it. After Bayleef runs away, Ash realizes that his Pokemon went missing and decided to look for her. While looking for Bayleef, Ash wonders why she ran away but Misty helped him realize that he was the one who told her to "go away and stay away" from him. Hearing this, Ash regrets for being so rough on Bayleef. He later finds Bayleef and tries to apologize, but she refuses to go back to him. However, Bayleef realized that Ash truly was sorry for yelling at her and forgave him.
** In ''Seeing the Forest for the Trees!'', [[HeroicBSOD after losing his Gym battle for his last badge in Kalos]], Ash snaps at Serena who was trying to cheer him up. Serena [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness gets angry with Ash]] and [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]] for not acting like his usual self, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan even going as far as to throw snowballs at him]]. However, Serena ends up feeling guilty for snapping at Ash, knowing that he was already in a bad mood and believing that she only ended up making things worse. Although, the two ultimately reconcile at the end of the episode, with Ash admitting that Serena snapped some sense into him.

** When Alan returns to the real world after being lost in Jumanji for 26 years, he discovers that his father gave up everything he had to find him, especially because the last thing he said to him was a threat to send him to boarding school just for not wanting to go. [[spoiler: Sure enough, when Alan undoes the magic and returns to his original time and age, his father comes to apologize and say that he doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' in the past, [[spoiler:King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, father of Princess Zelda, admits in his diary that he had been pushing his daughter too hard lately in her quests to unlock her holy powers. He cares for her deeply, but the understanding Calamity Ganon was likely to return pushed him to get her ready to fulfill her role in plan to take down Ganon. He then notes if her final trip to the last holy spring fails to awaken her power, he will lighten his pressure on her as she has done everything she could to unlock that power. Ganon struck the day of her return from the spring and never gave him a chance to reconcile with his daughter]].
** The tragedy is that by forcing her into performing ceremonies and going to holy springs while also dismissing her interest in research and archaeology, '''[[DramaticIrony he]]''' was the biggest obstacle to her unlocking her powers, since she carries the Triforce of Wisdom. ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' shows that when Ganon's attack came, he ordered Link to drag her away while he and his remaining Royal Guard pulled off a YouShallNotPass.

* ''Series/{{ER}}'''s Peter Benton has a HeelRealization about this when his constant criticism of one of his interns doesn't result in the man buckling down and working harder to become a better doctor, it results in him ''killing himself'' because he can't take it anymore. Unfortunately, this doesn't make Benton any less of a bully.

* This doubles with WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou in the second season of ''Series/RescueMe'' where Sheila's lesbian lover beats her in a fit of jealous rage. After that, she comes to console her, saying "I'm sorry I was so rough with you, but sometimes you just make me so angry."

-> ''"Ah, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly."''

* ''Fanfic/WeightOffYourShoulder'': Tikki wanted to mold Marinette into an {{Ideal Hero}}ine, and constantly scolded her whenever she made any mistakes or got distracted by problems in her civilian life. This wore down Marinette's self-esteem to the point that she became convinced she was nothing but a FailureHero, spurring her to give up her Guardianship (along with [[LaserGuidedAmnesia all her related memories) and pass the Earrings on to another. Said successor proves to be [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor just what Tikki wanted]]: somebody so singularly devoted to being a hero that she has nothing ''beyond'' being Ladybug. This spurs Tikki having a JerkassRealization about demanding too much of her holders.

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* In ''FanFic/TheLongingverse'', Rainbow Spectrum wonders this after he tells Rainbow Dash that she will never become a Wonderbolt. [[spoiler: By the time he goes to apologize, she had ran away to Cloudsdale.]]
* In ''FanFic/{{Bitterness}}'', Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, and Twilight's friends feel this way after Twilight cuts off ties with them for their actions at the wedding rehearsal (as opposed to [[EasilyForgiven quickly]] [[TurnTheOtherCheek forgiving]] them like in canon).
* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'': Well before [[spoiler: [[LoveInterestTraitor Jewelius]] reveals his true colors to her]], Twilight is remorseful over disowning and lashing out at her dishonored loved ones, feeling like she took her resentment over the wedding rehearsal too far. She expresses to Jewelius that she wants to apologize for being too harsh on them and forgive them for hurting her, convinced that her friends have been punished enough and have learned their lesson.
* In the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "Snaggers Keepers", Empath ponders this when he gets Nabby to look for the lost meditational stone of his friend Polaris Psyche instead of looking for it himself. Smurfette tells him that he shouldn't think he was being that when Nabby needs to know where the line must be drawn when it comes to taking things that don't belong to him.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13887970/1/The-Brother-s-Grimm The Brother's Grimm]]'', after constantly yelling at the Grumpy Passenger, then arranging to have him rendered homeless and penniless, [[OriginalCharacter David]] wonders if he was too harsh and aggressive with the other man.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'': King Triton dwells over this after scolding Ariel (while Sebastian believes he wasn't hard ''enough''). He also thinks this after destroying her secret grotto filled with human treasures. To be fair, he ''did'' go overboard with the latter, especially since [[NiceJobBreakingItHero it leads to her running away and making a deal with Ursula]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'': Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman decide to track down the penguins and chimps, thinking that they had abandoned them in Africa despite planning to come back for them. As part of an elaborate plan to confront them, Alex decides that step 1 is meeting them, step 2 is to give them hell for abandoning them, and step 3 is to realize that they were too hard on them and apologize. The plan ends up going off the rails, and Alex accidentally skips to step 3 when they meet them. Skipper accepts the apology without question, and orders his men to move out. Alex angrily realizes that he told them he was sorry without chewing them out first.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheWild'': Right when Samson yells at Ryan for costing them the game out of "jealousy" that he couldn't roar, Ryan flinches. Samson sees this and apologizes, but Ryan says [[YouAreNotMyFather he wishes his father really]] ''[[YouAreNotMyFather wasn't]]'' [[YouAreNotMyFather his father]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/MickeysTwiceUponAChristmas'', Mickey sends Pluto to his doghouse after his attempt to put the star on the Christmas tree ended up with all of Mickey's decorations destroyed. Later, when Mickey fixes everything, he begins to feel bad for how he yelled at him and goes to the doghouse to apologize, only to find that Pluto had run away.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'': Moses asks Seti if he was too harsh on Rameses by calling him a weak link who will bring Egypt to shame, just after Moses took responsibility for goading Rameses on in their chariot race. Seti responds that he ''[[ToughLove needs]]'' [[ToughLove to be hard]] on Rameses: He's the future king, so he can't afford to be careless.
** {{God}} actually has a moment like this. When He appears to Moses in the burning bush and tells him to go to free his people from Egypt, Moses tries to argue with God that he's not good enough for the job. God eventually raises His voice with Moses, while making the fire of the burning bush flare up brightly. Seeing how frightened this makes Moses, God takes on a much softer, more comforting tone, and assures him that He will be with him every step of the way.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', Arlo's papa Henry [[DisappointedInYou is frustrated]] that his son freed a pest that kept eating their crops. He urges him hard to get through a windy pass in an attempt to help him get through his fears. But when Arlo gets injured on the job, Henry's frustration turns to concern, and he apologizes for pushing him too hard.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'', Mowgli's adoptive father shouts at Mowgli for crossing the river, even though he was told not to, with the village kids and confined him to his room without dinner. Later that night, Baloo takes Mowgli back to the jungle and Shanti follows them thinking Baloo kidnapped the man-cub while Ranjan, Mowgli's adoptive brother, follows her. The adults in the village were too busy getting Shere Khan out of the village and after they kicked the tiger out, they found out the children ran into the jungle and go there to look for them. Mowgli's adoptive father, the next day, feels remorse and guilty saying he was "too harsh" on Mowgli. His wife assures them that they'll find the children and they continue searching.

* In ''Film/LadyBird'', while she never actually says it, [[spoiler:Marion's face just ''screams'' this as she drives away from the airport, with Lady Bird headed for New York.]]
* Film/{{Elf}}: After [[Creator/WillFerrell Buddy's]] [[InnocentlyInsensitive repeated insults]] against [[Creator/PeterDinklage Miles Finch]] cause the latter to angrily storm out, Walter gets extremely angry, before bluntly (and loudly) yelling at Buddy to [[IHaveNoSon "Get out of my life, NOW!"]] The film then cuts to a montage of Buddy believing that nobody appreciates him, and he has no place in the world. Meanwhile, Walter is sulking, feeling absolutely horrible for losing his temper and taking it out on Buddy.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', [=McGonagall=] thinks she was too hard on Peter Pettigrew during his school days, due to the fact that he went on to die a heroically foolish death. [[spoiler:Or so she thinks.]]

* In ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', Peter realizes that his berating of Edmund helped lead to the latter's betrayal. In the 2005 film version he says this phrase word for word.

* ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'': ''The Gathering Darkness'': ''A Pack Divided'' has a young dog named Whisper who is a big HeroWorshipper of Storm for killing off his cruel former alpha, Terror. But too much of it gets on Storm's nerve, so she bluntly (though understandably) tells him off and tells him to leave her alone. Then Whisper [[spoiler:gets killed]] near the end of the book, and Storms ends up regretting being harsh with him, bitterly telling herself that [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor she got what she wished for]].
* ''Literature/TheLastDogs'': ''Dark Waters'': After being separated from Max and Gizmo, Rocky ends up fine at a zoo, eating with Barbs the hyena. Max starts snapping at Rocky for [[AngerBornOfWorry making them worry]] and accuses him of forgetting his friends. But after Gizmo calms him down and Max sees how he's made Rocky afraid of him, he apologizes for being too rough on him, [[ItsAllMyFault blaming himself for not keeping an eye on Rocky]], and Rocky apologizes as well for making his friends worry about him.
* In ''Literature/MenAtArms'', Vetinari regularly pushes all of Vimes's buttons by pretending to be an CorruptPolitician to spur him into working harder on the current criminal case, recognizing that Vimes is exactly the sort of policeman who will investigate anything he's told to stay away from. He judges Vimes's emotional state from the dents he makes punching the wall as he leaves. However, in their final conversation, he [[TurnInYourBadge threatens to fire Vimes]] and announces that he will be dismantling the Night Watch; this effectively breaks Vimes, who at this stage has no identity outside his work as a policeman, and he proceeds to [[OffTheWagon go on a drunken binge]] [[DespairEventHorizon and abandons the case altogether]]. It isn't until Vetinari is speaking with Leonard later on that he remembers [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Vimes didn't punch the wall as he left]], and admits to Leonard that he went way too far this time.
* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'': After he is swayed to take part in the plan to kill her, Al desperately tries to apologize to Tris, only for her to rebuff it by saying that if he comes near her again, she'll kill him. He then commits suicide by jumping into a ravine, leading Tris to wonder if she was too hard on him.

* ''Series/HappyDays'':
** One time, Ritchie's father threatens to make Fonzie pay for damages to his roof due to a pigeon house that the Fonz built on the roof. He admits later to his family that maybe he was too hard on Fonzie. Played with, in that Fonzie later decides to sue him.
** Fonzie was also one to dish it out as well ... and more than once was called out on it. One example was in the episode "Hot Stuff," where he is outraged and screams at Chachi when he learns that he had forgotten to turn off the grill, causing a fire that destroys Arnold's. Even though he (along with Potsie and Ralph) were trapped inside and had to be rescued during the fire and could have been killed, several of the others believe Fonzie went too far when he yelled at Chachi, who had said he was sorry and begged for forgiveness and -- in the judgment of others -- had sufficiently shown remorse and guilt.

* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' hilariously played with this trope in the episode "Asses to Ashes" where Carlton, Hilary, and Ashley chewed out Will for (accidentally) killing Judge Robertson, figuring it would get him out of his funk. Then Will starts wailing like a little kid and the three are a bit shocked. This led to Carlton saying "I could be wrong."
* ''Series/{{Jessie}}''

* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''
** In the episode "Her Boyfriend's Back," Dan gets mad at Becky after finding out that she and Mark took his motorcycle out for a joy ride without telling him, and he winds up giving her the silent treatment. It all comes to a head when Dan offers to make him and Darlene milkshakes and doesn't ask Becky, who was in the room with them, if she wanted one, which causes Becky to feel hurt and run to her room. Dan soon starts to realize that he was being too hard on Becky and goes to apologize to her.
** Roseanne herself went through this in "The Driver's Seat" after she violently strikes DJ for stealing the car and driving it into a ditch. It hits her pretty hard since it reminded her of how her own father use to beat her and she promised that she would never be like him.
* ''Series/{{Voyagers}}'', "[[Recap/VoyagersS1E15VoyagersOfTheTitanic Voyagers of the Titanic]]". Bogg shoots a scathing remark at Olivia about her attempt to do things the way she thought best possibly costing them their only chance to cure Jeff. This, combined with her failure to save the ''Mona Lisa'', sends her into a massive fit of self-doubt. Bogg, having calmed down, tries to reassure her but is unable to do so.

* "You're a Useless Child" by Music/{{Vocaloid}} producer Kikuo has the mother of the song [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize how horrible of a mother she is]] only after her child [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide kills himself]]]] due to all of the verbal abuse he suffered at her hands.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'', Col. Sawyer is emotionally distraught by the fact that he previously treated Capt. Bannon like crap (entirely justifiably, by the way), after [[spoiler: Bannon pulls a YouShallNotPass on the Soviets and dies by nuke]]. This, along with general stress upon him, contributes to Sawyer making several strategic mistakes late in the campaign.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Shiki [[WhatTheHellHero calls out]] her partner Neku for calling the [[ThePowerOfFriendship idea of friendship]] worthless in Day 4 after [[spoiler:their friend Rhyme gets eaten and erased by a Shark noise, which leaves her partner Beat doomed to erasure without Mr. Hanekoma's help]]. Then she realizes she was being harsh and apologizes to him. Her emotions at the time had caused her to come off as harsher than intended, and she realizes that in order to survive, she and her partner will have to be able to work together.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', when the police have identified a suspect in the serial murders [[spoiler:who, in reality, is only guilty of [[JackTheRipoff one copycat killing]],]] teen detective Naoto Shirogane approaches the party, and says that their "game" of investigating the murder will soon be over, prompting Rise to angrily say that Naoto's the one playing a game. A month and a half later, at the fireworks festival and after the apparent suspect's arrest, the group brings up Naoto, and Rise says she regrets saying what she did, hoping to not part on bad terms with Naoto. Even later on, [[spoiler:when Naoto [[CallBack reminds Rise of the earlier remark]] by denying that she considers it a game, either, Rise is horrified, believing that what she said caused Naoto to risk herself to lure out the true culprit]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' in the past [[spoiler: King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, father of Princess Zelda, admits in his diary that he had been pushing his daughter too hard lately in her quests to unlock her holy powers. He cares for her deeply, but the understanding Calamity Ganon was likely to return pushed him to get her ready to fulfill her role in plan to take down Ganon. He then notes if her final trip to the last holy spring fails to awaken her power, he will lighten his pressure on her as she has done everything she could to unlock that power. Ganon struck the day of her return from the spring and never gave him a chance to reconcile with his daughter]].
** The tragedy is that by forcing her into performing ceremonies and going to holy springs while also dismissing her interest in research and archaeology, '''[[DramaticIrony he]]''' was the biggest obstacle to her unlocking her powers, since she carries the Triforce of Wisdom. ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' shows that when Ganon's attack came, he ordered Link to drag her away while he and his remaining Royal Guard pulled off a YouShallNotPass
* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'': If the player does several things that their companions disapprove of, they'll call off their friendship with you for a little while; if the player is in a romantic relationship, they'll break up. But once the player improves themselves to said companions, they'll tell the player that they were expecting too much from the player and apologize, reforming their friendship or relationship (and the player apologizes as well).
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey:'' In the ''Legacy of the First Blade'', the mother of a member of the Order of Ancients says this about her daughter, who is now a [[TheDreaded Dreaded]] and bad-tempered ship captain. She eventually tries a reconciliation, but years of brainwashing by a fanatical order means it doesn't go very well. [[spoiler:Either mom gets stabbed by the Tempest's thugs, sending her into a mad rage, or the Tempest dies from her injuries in mom's arms.]]
* Inverted in the ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' backstory, where Iachesis was the [[TheArchmage Ritemaster]] of the Psijic Order, the oldest and most powerful MagicalSociety in Tamriel. One of his students, Vanus Galerion, revealed that another, Mannimarco, was practicing necromancy. Vanus expected Mannimarco to be executed or imprisoned, but was shocked when Iachesis opted to banish Mannimarco instead. His disillusionment led Vanus to leave the Psijic Order and start the [[WizardingSchool Mages Guild]], while Mannimarco went on to kill thousands in several incidents over the next two Eras and leave a dark VillainousLegacy.

-->'''Jasmine:''' I think you overdid it with the leash.
-->'''Aladdin:''' ''(scoffs)'' H-He'll be back.
-->''(Abu throws his fez at him)''
-->'''Genie:''' Oh, I don't know, Al. That's one mad monkey.

** Della:

''*Tigress glances lamentingly at Shifu and the Furious Five chatting among themselves*''

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': At the end of the episode "Pipe Down", Timmy's Dad apologizes to Timmy for yelling at him for making the family lose to the Dinklebergs in a game of charades.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': In "Elroy's Mob", George [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment sends Elroy to bed without supper]] for allegedly getting failing grades on his report tape ([[GuiltByAssociationGag plus Astro, for defending him]]) despite his pleas that there had to have been a mistake with the tapes. Moments later, he gets a call from Mr. Countdown, the father of Elroy's classmate Kenny, who coerced his son into telling the truth that he had swapped his report tape with Elroy and has his straight-As. George naturally feels guilty, but when he goes to Elroy's room to apologize, he finds Elroy and Astro have run away.
-->'''George:''' Oh boy, I feel lower than a Martian midget.
* In the "King of the Hobos" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleRascals'', after Porky runs away, Darla suggests to the other boys that exiling him from the treehouse might have been too harsh a punishment for eating all of their food.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Twisted Sister", the girls scold Bunny for breaking criminals out of jail instead of helping them, causing Bunny to fly away crying.
-->'''Blossom:''' Do you think we were too hard on her?\\
''[The girls see the criminals Bunny freed surrounding them]''\\
'''Criminals:''' Not as hard as we're gonna be on you! ''[cue NoHoldsBarredBeatdown]''
* Ren has occasional moments of this concerning [[ManChild Stimpy]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "Bart vs. Thanksgiving", after Bart runs away after being sent to his room, Homer and Marge feel this way when explaining to the police what happened.
** In "Mona Leaves-A", Homer gets mad at his mother Mona for always leaving him to go on and calls her a horrible mother. Later that night, Homer feels bad about what he said and decides to make a card for her, only to find [[TearJerker she died later that night]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' episode "Charlie Ball", Charlie [[TookALevelInJerkass becomes a jerk]] when it comes to basketball, and Grizz tries his hardest to keep his temper. But when Charlie insults Panda, [[BigBrotherInstinct Grizz]] bluntly kicks him off the team. He does feel bad about being hard on the Sasquatch, though, and Panda and Ice Bear tell him he did the right thing.

* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': [[OverprotectiveDad Marlin]] feels this way about Nemo in the first film, and about Dory in [[WesternAnimation/FindingDory the sequel]].

** In ''[[VideoGame/Persona5 Persona 5 Royal]]'', the female Phantom Thieves admit that [[spoiler:attacking Ryuji after he nearly died saving everyone]] was a dickish thing to do. Futaba even wants to apologize to him.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': In "Elroy's Mob", George [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment sends Elroy to bed without supper]] for allegedly getting failing grades on his report tape ([[GuiltByAssociationGag plus Astro, for defending him]]) despite his pleas that there had have been a mistake with the tape. Moments later, he gets a call from Mr. Countdown, the father of Elroy's classmate Kenny, who coerced his son into telling the truth that he had swapped report tapes with Elroy. George naturally feels guilty, but when he goes to Elroy's room to apologize, he finds Elroy and Astro have run away.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Quistis tells Rinoa off for suggesting a risky plan for neutralizing the sorceress while Quistis and her fellow [[PrivateMilitaryContractors SeeDs]] are already in the midst of preparing the assassination they've been hired for. Shortly afterwards, she lets her worry that she might have been too harsh towards Rinoa prompt her to leave her post in an attempt to apologize - a poorly-considered emotional decision that leads to Quistis and her entire team getting [[spoiler:locked in General Caraway's study(which was only supposed to lock in Rinoa, who'd already left) just as the mission is supposed to begin and barely making it back to their post in time]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/BackAtTheBarnyard'' episode "Home Sweet Hole", Otis accidentally ruin Pips mouse home and he tried living with his friends. However, Pip was harshly told to leave their homes and a misunderstanding has led him to run away from the barnyard. Realizing this, Otis and the others felt guilty for yelling at Pip then went looking for him in order to make things right with him, which they were able to do. After forgiving his friends, Pip was explained the misunderstanding he heard from his friends.

** In "North By North Quahog", Stewie asks this to Brian when he spanks Chris while acting as a ParentalSubstitute, despite that Chris was framed by a student for drinking vodka. Brian responds that he doesn't think so and Stewie says that he feels bad when they have to be strict.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': Orko was scolded when he accidentally ruined Teela and Man-At-Arms' wedding anniversary gifts for the king and queen. Believing to be nothing but trouble, Orko ran away from the palace. However, after cleaning up with He-Man help, Teela hoped that she and the boys weren't too hard on Orko.

** In "The Princess And The Po", Po, Tigress, and Mantis have to escort a [[RoyalBrat bratty princess]] to a rendezvous, and she gets on even [[EveryoneHasStandards Po's]] nerves, though he tries being patient at first. When she starts blaming Tigress and Mantis for the bandits attacking, Po finally has had enough and tells her off hard, calling her out for her very bratty behavior during the trip. This causes her to cry, and Po starts feeling bad and apologizes for this later on, and she to him for behaving that way.

*** In "Present Tense" Tigress is left dealing with a GenkiGirl who is obnoxiously enthusiastic about the Winter Festival. Eventually, Tigress explodes at her, since she loathes the Winter Festival since she has no real family to celebrate with. Xiao Nao sadly responds [[SadClown she doesn't either, she only wanted to get into the spirit of things]]. Tigress immediately feels guilty.

** In "Dude, We're Getting The Band Back Together" where Phineas asks the lead singer of Love Handel, Danny, was he tough on the guy who wasn't playing the guitar properly. His response was "He'll be back when the spirit calls him!".
** In "Phineas And Ferb Get Busted", Lawrence tells Linda that they've been too hard on the boys after sending them to the Smile Away Remoratory School for engaging in their usual activities.
** In "Phineas And Ferb the movie: Across the 2nd Dimension", Phineas became angry and hurt when he finds out about Perry double life as a secret agent, although the platypus doesn't blame him for that as he knew he was gonna feel this way if he found out but felt guilty for not telling him or Ferb even more. However, seeing that Perry turned himself in just as he and Ferb were going back home, Phineas not only realize how wrong he was to be so hard on him but also decided to go rescue him from 2nd dimension Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Seeing his efforts in rescuing him and willing to go through great lengths to help him, Perry forgives Phineas.
** In "Phineas And Ferb: Mission Marvel", after accidentally ruining a machine to temporarily duplicate the lost powers for the super heroes, Candace and Phineas had a little argument as she feels that she should't help him. After Phineas agreed what his sister said, Candace instantly regretted for saying that and decided to help fix her mistake, much to his surprises and appreciation. However, Candace accidentally made things from bad to worse and Phineas snapped at her. Although they knew how harsh Phineas was to Candace, everyone decided to just keep focuses and know they'll work things out. After Candace found where the lost powers for the super heroes was, Phineas apologizes to his sister as he realize that he really lost it and she was just trying to help, which she accepts and apologizes to him for messing up as he accepts her as well.

** In "Whatever Happened To [=SpongeBob=]?", Gary, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, and Mr. Krabs all bluntly told Spongebob to get lost when he accidentally ruin what they had or interrupted. However, they ended up feeling guilt-ridden, minus Squidward, when they find out he has run away because of this later on.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', after seeing his brother under Noah's control, Kaiba thought to himself that he might of been too hard on Mokuba and stride to [[MustMakeAmends make amends]] with him by getting him back to [[IKnowYoureinThereSomewhereFight senses]], which work.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Quistis tells Rinoa off for suggesting a risky plan for neutralizing the sorceress while Quistis and her fellow [[PrivateMilitaryContractor SeeDs]] are already in the midst of preparing the assassination they've been hired for. Shortly afterwards, she lets her worry that she might have been too harsh towards Rinoa prompt her to leave her post in an attempt to apologize - a poorly-considered emotional decision that leads to Quistis and her entire team getting [[spoiler:locked in General Caraway's study(which was only supposed to lock in Rinoa, who'd already left) just as the mission is supposed to begin and barely making it back to their post in time]].

* In ''Series/HappyDays'', Ritchie's father threatens to make Fonzie pay for damages to his roof due to a pigeon house that the Fonz built on the roof. He admits later to his family that maybe he was too hard on Fonzie. Played with, in that Fonzie later decides to sue him.

* In the ''Series/FullHouse'' episode "Joey Gets Tough", Joey, who plays the ParentalSubstitute for Danny, asks Jesse about how D.J. feels after he grounded her for sneaking to karate class.

** In ''Target: April O'Neil'', April, who has been holding a grudge against the Turtles for accidentally mutating her father to a bat in ''The Mutation Situation'', [[RejectedApology brushed]] off Donnie's attempts to fix things between them and tells him to leave but did take a second to hear him say that some things are beyond anyone's control. While hanging out with Casey and hearing him say the same thing Donnie said, April not only thinks about their advices but also [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regretted]] her actions towards the Turtles. When the Foot Clan attack, April realized that Donnie and Casey were right that some situations can't be control as she calls the Turtles for help. Also, during the fight, April tells the rest of the Turtles to not be so rough on Donnie because she could have been kidnapped if he hadn't answered her call for help. After the Foot Clan retreated, April [[{{Forgiveness}} thanks]] the Turtles for saving her and apologizes to them for her behavior, especially Donnie.

-> ''"Perhaps I treated you too harshly."''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': In "Elroy's Mob", George [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment sends Elroy to bed without supper]] for allegedly getting failing grades on his report tape ([[GuiltByAssociationGag plus Astro, for defending him]]) despite his pleas that there had have been a mistake with the tape. Moments later, he gets a call from Mr. Countdown, the father of Elroy's classmate Kenny, who coerced his son into telling the truth that he had swapped report tapes with Elroy. George naturally feels guilty, but when he goes to Elroy's room to apologize, he find Elroy and Astro have run away.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': In "Elroy's Mob", George [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment sends Elroy to bed without supper]] for allegedly getting failing grades on his report tape ([[GuiltByAssociationGag plus Astro, for defending him]]) despite his pleas that there had have been a mistake with the tape. Moments later, he gets a call from Mr. Countdown, the father of Elroy's classmate Kenny, who coerced his son into telling the truth that he had swapped report tapes with Elroy. George naturally feels guilty, but when he goes to Elroy's room to apologize, he find Elory and Astro have run away.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': In "Elroy's Mob", George punishes Elroy for allegedly getting failing grades on his report tape ([[GuiltByAssociationGag plus Astro, for defending him]]) despite his pleas that his miserable classmate Kenny Countdown switched their tapes and has his good grades. Shortly thereafter, he gets a message from Kenny (having been caught red-handed by his father) vouching for Elroy, and by the time he goes to Elroy's room to apologize, he and Astro have already left behind a DearJohnLetter.

** ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeIIITimeOfTheGreatGiving Time of the Great Giving]]'' has Topps realizing he had been too harsh with Cera by yelling at her out of concern for her safety, after witnessing Hyp's father berating his son.

** ''Time of the Great Giving'' has Topps realizing he had been too harsh with Cera by yelling at her out of concern for her safety, after witnessing Hyp's father berating his son.
** In ''Invasion of the Tinysauruses'', after Littlefoot has to owe up to his lie in knocking out all the tree-sweets and blaming the tiny-longnecks for it, nearly all of his friends [[WhatTheHellHero tell him off]] before turning their backs on him, driving him away. They end up in tearful remorse over it, after accusing each other of being mean to Littlefoot. Cera (the only one of the Gang who didn't push away Littlefoot[[note]]which would be logical given she was the one who teased Littlefoot about his size which led him into knocking off the tree-sweets in the first place[[/note]]) then shows up and, upon hearing what they did, suggests they go find Littlefoot and apologize to him.

** In ''The Great Day of the Flyers'', Petrie's siblings get mad at him for constantly messing up their practice for their flying test, which prompts their mother and, later, Guido to step in and tell them not to be so hard on Petrie.

May be AlasPoorVillain if taken to extremes. A [[BewareTheNiceOnes nice guy who had his buttons pushed]] may experience this. Can be TruthInTelevision for some parents don't feel comfortable in punishing their children. This is often the reaction to a child being TheRunaway. A very suitable reaction of the PushoverParents if they punish their children for the first time ever. Can be why BeingGoodSucks.