It’s time to put on your “opinion hat” because this topic is a doozy.
This morning it was revealed that a Townsville mother forced her child to sit for an hour in a public place on Sunday wearing a sign that said, “Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief.”
According to the report on News.com.au
“The boy, thought to be aged about 10, was also wearing Shrek ears and writing lines in what appeared to a form of public punishment, according to dozens of witnesses who contacted the Townsville Bulletin. The boy spent almost an hour on Sunday near a popular waterpark in Townsville while his family ate lunch nearby.”
Witnesses claim the boy was mocked by other children his age walking past (hardly surprising). Meanwhile former child safety worker Diane Mayers was so horrified by what she witnessed she called Child Safety Services claiming the long term effects of such a public humiliation were far more damaging than physical abuse.
Since we posted about this story this morning, more details have come to light about the young boy. According to his mother he has a long history of shop-lifting and she has tried everything to stop him (including visits to the police). You can read about that here.
Keep in mind that just three years ago Northern Territory father Sam Burt was applauded for disciplining his five-year-old-son when the little boy was banned from the school bus for a week for hitting the bus driver with an apple core. Burt made his son walk to school for a week — that’s a 13 km trip. The father and son did the two-and-a-half hour walk together — getting up at 5am every morning to reach school on time. And I remember seeing an interview at the time with the father who said he and his son had many interesting conversations that week about ‘doing the right thing’.
Top Comments
If this is the punishment that his parents thought appropriate the so be it i hope they were right. All the experts in the world can't say if this would work or if this will make things worse. I mean expert as in parents everwhere we are all trying to do the best we can for our children, and sometimes the type of discipline handed out by one parent is not even agreed on by the other even when we are in the same house. All these child psychologist in the world can only agrue this doesn't and that dosen't work but as parents we have to do what best for our children. Would i have done this to my child, no, but that would've been my desision not anyone else's, either.
Sad ... I feel for the kids and the parents. As parents we are constantly judged for the way we raise our kids and how we discipline them, at least the dad who walked with his son, chose something that would get the point across, and they did it together, I don't agree with the other parent placing a sign on their kid, that's crossing the line for me, each day brings it's challenges. One year ago my own mother humiliated my son at his cousins mc Donalds party - I'm still not over it, and I know he will always harbor bad feelings about that incident as will I, there will always be differing opinions on how to raise your kids, but be wary about overstepping your boundaries, it changes who they are and how you are viewed.