Parent Claims Discipline Made Teen Change

Parent Claims Discipline Made Teen Change

By Jennifer Mock
The Oklahoman

Edmond resident Tasha Henderson has been both commended and blasted by her peers for publicly humiliating her daughter in an effort to improve her grades.

Henderson made her daughter stand on a street corner last week holding a sign saying, "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."

Regardless of what others think about her parenting tactic, Henderson said the humiliation worked after a long string of failed attempts to discipline her 14-year-old freshman daughter. Henderson said her daughter was skipping class and letting her grades slip, but she called Edmond Memorial High School on Monday, and her daughter had been to every class on time.

"Sure, she was a little upset, but she claims she is going to do better because she doesn't ever want to do that again," Henderson said. "I know it seemed like it was a little harsh, but when you have tried all the routes that you know of, I didn't know what else to do. I don't know if it has worked yet, but I know she is thinking about it now."

Though Edmond psychologist Richard Swink said humiliation in teenagers can border on mental or emotional abuse, he also has seen unorthodox discipline methods work on children who did not respond to more traditional approaches.

"I can understand, as a parent, how the mother felt and what her motivation was to effect some sort of constructive change," he said. "To create a sense of shame or guilt is not always negative, but sometimes there is a thin line between accomplishing that and running the risk of potential emotional harm. But, as a parent, we have all been there and wondered what we could do to make a significant impact on the child."

Source: http://newsok.com/article/1671313/?template=life/main

“If you spare the rod, you spoil the child…”