Hey guys. So, I went fishing with my friend after school, and I told my mom I would be home for dinner. My friends car ended up breaking down, in the woods, where we were fishing, and we were stranded there. Luckily, after two hours of waiting to see if a car would pass us, a friend drove by and picked us up. By the time I got home, it was a couple hours past dinner. I explained to my mom that the car broke down and we had to wait in the freezing cold rain for another car to drive by, but she got mad and made it sound like it was my fault that we broke down. She grounded me for a week. It isn't my fault that the car broke down. She should have known that if I wasn't home for dinner, something must be wrong. She just got mad and yelled at me and said I was grounded for a week. Is it fair for her to ground me when it obviously wasn't my fault I was late?? Gee, she should be happy that a bear didn't eat me :/

Maybe she doesn't believe you. Have you given her reasons to doubt you before? Neither of you had a cell phone that you could have called her with?

Sometimes anger comes out when someone is very worried. Perhaps that is what has happened in this situation. Hopefully she will reconsider when she has time to give it some more thought.

Of course, as odinn7 mentioned, if being late has been a bit of a common thing, perhaps she wasn't willing to consider the possibility of there being truth to what you said.

Might be wise to look into getting a cell phone if you don't have one. Not sure if you would have had reception where you were, but it might have made all the difference.

Of course, she is glad that a bear didn't eat you. Just as she is glad nothing else happened to you out there.
As a mother let me say that worry over your children can make us do things that you may not think fair or right.
Her anger may have been a result of the worry.
Then again as odin said it may have been that she didn't believe you.
Been there too, It's not a nice feeling for a mother to think that her children are being less than honorable.

So you are grounded for a week, it was because you did not call her ( no one in any car have a cell phone) did anyone call, ** sorry you, your friend, the friends who drove past, no one had a phone ?
But you were not home, and often rules does not matter why,

So yes just a week being grounded sounds perfectly fair.