Mother forces 'thief' son into parade of shame

[JBelushi]

A MOTHER made her child sit in public with a sign pinned to his shirt that said: "Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief."


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,
Diane Mayers was so "horrified" when she saw the boy she contacted Child Safety Services to intervene.

Ms Mayers, who worked with the department in the past, said any long-term effects of public humiliation would have been much worse than physical abuse.

"The boy just kept his head down and was staring at the ground," she said. "The parents had gone to all the trouble of printing two copies of the sign - one for the back and one for the front - and laminating them. A lot of work had gone in to it.

"A lot of people walked past and were laughing at him, including boys who would have been his age.

"At one point the boy had taken off the Shrek ears. My daughter walked past and heard the mother say, 'Put them back on or I'll smack your head in'."

What do you think? Too much or a good punishment? Tell us below




Would you do this to your kid?.


​

 

[JBelushi]

Another link.

https://www.mamamia.com.au/news/when-does-disciplining-a-child-become-abuse/

 

[Butch]

This is what is called. Tough love.

 

[papasmerf]

good on her

 

[Kylie Daniels]

I think that's a bit extreme. It's actually disgusting.

 

[Auggie]

He'll get his revenge down the road when she gets pushed down the stairs.

 

[Iambad]

I think that's a bit extreme. It's actually disgusting.

The kid had-has a problem. It wasn't only once that he stole. Better to suck it in now or go to jail when he gets older.

Trust me, tough love works.




She told the Townsville Bulletin she had tried before resorting to shaming him.
“We’ve had a process over the last three years of him shoplifting and stealing whatever he can get his hands on,” she said. “I have taken him to the police station, had the police officers take him around, shown him a paddy wagon, shown him all the cells, shown him the process of being charged. … I have put him into courses, I have had counselling down, I have done everything I can.”

 

[SweetMary]

Oh dear. I am not sure how I would have handled it if he was my son. I wish his mother the best, not an easy thing to do to your own son.

 

[a 1 player]

The kid had-has a problem. It wasn't only once that he stole. Better to suck it in now or go to jail when he gets older.

Trust me, tough love works.




She told the Townsville Bulletin she had tried before resorting to shaming him.
“We’ve had a process over the last three years of him shoplifting and stealing whatever he can get his hands on,” she said. “I have taken him to the police station, had the police officers take him around, shown him a paddy wagon, shown him all the cells, shown him the process of being charged. … I have put him into courses, I have had counselling down, I have done everything I can.”

As a first offense for a 10 year old child I would have called it a bit extreme, with repeated offenses, it might do the trick. I really hope it does.

 

[Shithead]

Pain = smart up for teens.

 

[Kylie Daniels]

I'm sorry but it's a 10 year old kid. I'm blaming the parents on this one. And for her to publicly threaten to smack his head in? Please. I agree with the woman who called child services. That's nothing short of abuse- all of it. Shrek ears, the signs, public humiliation. It's a child. I'm going out on a limb to say the parents had a hand in the outcome of their child's actions.

 

[Maurice Boscorelli]

'' 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.''

It was an hour for Christ sakes and.......

''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). ''

I say if this is what it takes to get through to the little sh@thead then so be it.

 

[tboy]

I'm sorry but it's a 10 year old kid. I'm blaming the parents on this one. And for her to publicly threaten to smack his head in? Please. I agree with the woman who called child services. That's nothing short of abuse- all of it. Shrek ears, the signs, public humiliation. It's a child. I'm going out on a limb to say the parents had a hand in the outcome of their child's actions.

Sorry, but some kids are just hard wired from birth to be a problem kid. There are countless articles and reports on kids who just don't give a rat's ass about society, rules, and proper ways to act. Ever watch "beyond scared straight"??? Some just have a violent temper that isn't "created" by any actions on the parents, they're just wired that way.

The only ones who complained about this sort of punishment a) don't know the whole story and b) don't offer up any other sort of answer to misbehaviour. Sounds like the parents have tried many different things to get him to change his behaviour and this was a last resort.

I totally 100% agree with this sort of punishment. Hopefully it will stick and he'll think of this before stealing again. This reminds me of the caning of the US teen and how so many were up in arms over that....

I wonder though, if Kylie thinks this is too extreme, what about muslim countries where they lop the hand off a thief?

Would I do this to my kid? As a last resort yes, in a heartbeat. If all else fails and they won't listen to reason, won't abide by the laws, and all other forms of punishment didn't get through to him, then yep.

One more thing Kylie, I think you're too young to remember when corporal punishment was the norm. I grew up in school with the "strap" and it would be pretty common to see kids coming to school with the odd bruise. We'd ask "what you'd do"? "mouth off to mom", "broke her favourite lamp", "didn't clean up my room" etc etc. I mean, they'd beat you at school so it was totally acceptable in the home. Even in the US the laws state that it is legal for a parent to smack their kid....I remember one time some friends and I got out of hand in class and the teacher sent us to the principal's office. He gave us a lecture and then pulled out "the strap". He cleared off a corner of his desk and whacked it with all his might. You should have seen the dent it left in the desk. He said "next time? I won't be hitting the desk...". Needless to say, there wasn't a next time......

 

[Auggie]

It could be true that the kid was hardwired badly from the start, but if so this punishment would also do nothing to stop him.

Makes me glad I chose not to have one.

 

[Madman]

I was forced to return to a store in my younger days with all the loot I had shop lifted. My father grabbed me by the ears and marched me back to the Korean Becker's store owner. Made me put my Oh Henry bar, my Jawbreakers, and other delightful candy morsels all on the counter and apologize to the store owner. He looked down at me, squinted his eyes and picked up the phone threatening to call the fuzz. I of course started crying like a baby and we struck a deal. I had to clean the gentleman's bathroom for a week, needless to say I never ever shoplifted anything again, EVER! :grrrrrr:

 

[tboy]

It could be true that the kid was hardwired badly from the start, but if so this punishment would also do nothing to stop him.

Makes me glad I chose not to have one.

I sort of disagree....even if someone is prone to a particular action, that natural reaction can be overcome with proper incentive. I was usuing the "hardwired" situation to negate the attitude that it was probably the parents to blame.

In the serious "beyond scared straight" you can tell a lot of the time it is simply the parents not nipping the problem in the bud as soon as it starts. One woman (single mother) said "I don't know what his problem is, I give him everything"....that's the problem right there.

Madman: That is a similar situation to what we're talking about here, except you were made to face the "victim" directly as opposed to everyone around. Nothing wrong with what your father did, it sure left an impression on you didn't it?

I think in today's society too many parents are afraid to take a stand and be P A R E N T S for fear of repercussions.

I've told this story before, but it fits here: I worked for a guy who was a pretty tough boss. He had a son who was really into hockey. He took him to practice every morning, tournements, hockey camps with special coaches, power skating courses, all the best equipment etc.

So the kid was growing up and (I think) when he was around 12, he started mouthing off to his mother, not doing chores etc. So this guy gets home from work one night and his son is in his room grounded. The kid had told his mother to fuck off....My boss stormed upstairs and said something like "if you ever speak to your mother like that again, I'll break your legs"...the kid says "you touch me and I'll call the police"....My boss said "here's the phone, but it will take them at least 10 minutes to get here......" Kid never mouthed off again.

The thing is: the kid KNEW his dad meant it. This guy NEVER said something just to say it. (learned a lot from him).

 

[God]

I was forced to return to a store in my younger days with all the loot I had shop lifted. My father grabbed me by the ears and marched me back to the Korean Becker's store owner. Made me put my Oh Henry bar, my Jawbreakers, and other delightful candy morsels all on the counter and apologize to the store owner. He looked down at me, squinted his eyes and picked up the phone threatening to call the fuzz. I of course started crying like a baby and we struck a deal. I had to clean the gentleman's bathroom for a week, needless to say I never ever shoplifted anything again, EVER! :grrrrrr:

I had a similar scenerio. It worked for me.

 

[Auggie]

tboy, first you say he's hardwired to be bad and nothing can be done - then you say the problem can be overcome.

None of us really know in this particular case, but I'd say if he can be corrected that humiliation is the wrong approach and would make him retreat further into being anti-social. Rather than just growing up to be a thief, he could become a violent thief.