Steve GannCreative Parenting or Child Abuse?
April 20th 2010 01:41
Tennessee mom Tina Woods had finally had enough of her son Josh's bad behavior.
In the past she had tried punishing by spanking, taking his television away, and assigning him extra chores.
Josh had stolen a pair of shoes from a local shoe store. He also admitted to her that this wasn't the first time that he had shoplifted.
Josh said he took the shoes because he really liked them and was actually surprised that the shoe store didn’t catch him stealing the shoes. His score was short lived however, as his mother figured it out and made him take them back.
So what did Tina do to punish Josh that caused a commotion outside of the store?
She made him stand outside the Rack Room Shoes holding a homemade sign that read, “I Am a Thief, I Broke God’s Law, I Stole, I Lied.”
“I had done some praying about it,” Tina said. “This is what I felt led to do, is to have him do this to help show him he was wrong.
After coming up with the idea she got permission from the store for him to stand outside with the sign. She also called the police to make sure she doing so wasn’t against the law.
Josh has spent one hour on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday displaying the sign in front of the store to passersby. He always has a cup of water to drink from if he gets thirsty. His mother, who works retail near the shoe store, also keeps a close eye on him.
Some passing vehicles honked at him. Others called the police to report the scene as a case of child abuse. Regardless of the complaints and support, Josh seems to have gotten the message.
Will this novel approach work? Time will be the ultimate judge but so far Josh seems to be saying the right things.
"It's humiliation and if you are humiliated, you probably won't do it again,” he said while displaying the sign.”
He also had advice for his peers who seem to be on a similar path.
“Never do anything like steal,” he said, “and listen to your parents."
Followers of Pavlov psychology would probably disapprove of this punishment because it doesn't produce any positive outcomes, but sometimes I think you have to look at each incident individually and design your own solution.
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