Maryland Boy Learns Lesson With "Homeless" Sign Punishment

[moe.ron]

A man in Waldorf, Md., hopes a bit of public embarrassment will teach his son a lesson about respect.

Kevin Burks said his 12-year-old son Kenny didn't call home this past weekend when he wanted to spend the night at a friend's house.

"All he has to do is check in at 8:30," said Burks. But after Kenny didn't call until about 9 p.m. and another friend actually called to say Kenny was spending the night, Burks told his son to come home.

To teach his son a lesson, Burks had him spend Monday walking up and down the street with a sign that read "Homeless, Won't Listen to Parents."

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...159492545.html

Awesomeness

[TonyB06]

I think it's terrible that people resort to doing this kind of foolishness to their children in the name of "teaching them a lesson."

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

I think it's terrible that people resort to doing this kind of foolishness to their children in the name of "teaching them a lesson."

I agree. These parents are attention whores who want their public "lessons" to be showcased on facebook, youtube, Greekchat (), Good Morning America, etc.

A better lesson is to have your child volunteer at a homeless shelter and meet homeless children. That is if homelessness is truly the lesson. Perhaps being made to come home and not get to visit a friend's house for a few months is a more immediate and logical lesson for this "offense".

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I agree. These parents are attention whores who want their public "lessons" to be showcased on facebook, youtube, Greekchat (), Good Morning America, etc.

A better lesson is to have your child volunteer at a homeless shelter and meet homeless children. That is if homelessness is truly the lesson. Perhaps being made to come home and not get to visit a friend's house for a few months is a more immediate and logical lesson for this "offense".

I agree as well. Terrible parenting in my view.

We've always taken the view that the punishment should fit the crime. The "crime" is failing to check in. Grounding seems to fit much better for that. Meanwhile Dad says he wants to teach respect. I fail to see how public embarrassment teaches respect.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I agree. These parents are attention whores who want their public "lessons" to be showcased on facebook, youtube, Greekchat (), Good Morning America, etc.

A better lesson is to have your child volunteer at a homeless shelter and meet homeless children. That is if homelessness is truly the lesson. Perhaps being made to come home and not get to visit a friend's house for a few months is a more immediate and logical lesson for this "offense".

All of this. He's actually making light of homelessness, which is the OPPOSITE of what he says he's doing.

[Munchkin03]

If you see the comments, the father has chimed in. He misquotes Bernie Mac, uses all sorts of cliches, and doesn't know the difference between "know" and "no." Not only did he have a great big parenting FAIL, he sounds like a blooming idiot.

I liked his explanation as to why he just didn't ground the kid/take away his electronics: after all the time it would take to remove the TV, Playstation, etc., and ground him for a week, it wouldn't be worth it. What does this kid have, a man cave?

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I agree as well. Terrible parenting in my view.

We've always taken the view that the punishment should fit the crime. The "crime" is failing to check in. Grounding seems to fit much better for that. Meanwhile Dad says he wants to teach respect. I fail to see how public embarrassment teaches respect.

I agree.

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

If you see the comments, the father has chimed in. He misquotes Bernie Mac, uses all sorts of cliches, and doesn't know the difference between "know" and "no." Not only did he have a great big parenting FAIL, he sounds like a blooming idiot.

I liked his explanation as to why he just didn't ground the kid/take away his electronics: after all the time it would take to remove the TV, Playstation, etc., and ground him for a week, it wouldn't be worth it. What does this kid have, a man cave?

Meh, my kids have that stuff too and most kids that age have that stuff now. My coworker was smart with this stuff. She just took all the power cords to things when she was grounding her kids. You don't have to move everything out, you just have to make them not function. When her kids were doing things on the Internet when grounded, she took the power cord to the cable modem to work with her. Problem solved.

[ZTAOnlytheBest]

I just have to say that I think it's absolutely ridiculous for kids that age to have all that stuff. This is why kids can't entertain themselves for five minutes anymore.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by ZTAOnlytheBest

I just have to say that I think it's absolutely ridiculous for kids that age to have all that stuff. This is why kids can't entertain themselves for five minutes anymore.

I don't think it is any more ridiculous than having board games, a bike, etc. A gaming system is just another toy. It obviously isn't keeping this kid from socializing with friends since he got in trouble for not calling home when he should have. He's not 3 or 6 or 9.. he's 12. He's kind of beyond the time of green army men and tonka trucks. There really aren't a lot of indoor activities for kids that age.

[ZTAOnlytheBest]

Hm well I guess I just have different expectations of kids that age range. And while I can see the similarities to Board games, saying its like having a bike is quite a stretch.

[ZTAOnlytheBest]

I just wanted to add that I think volunteering used as punishment is a bad idea. Then it teaches the kid that it's only punishment, not something they should willingly do. Or at least it seems to me that it would. I've never experienced it so I can't really say.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

I've heard of this being done in a few different instances and, in each one, the teens learned nothing. I find that kids can be pretty short-sighted. Honestly, sacrifice has to be freely given for it to mean anything. If it's done by force, the message is totally lost in a lot of cases.

Originally Posted by ZTAOnlytheBest

I just wanted to add that I think volunteering used as punishment is a bad idea. Then it teaches the kid that it's only punishment, not something they should willingly do. Or at least it seems to me that it would. I've never experienced it so I can't really say.

I agree completely. This is why I think forcing high school students to complete community service as a graduation requirement is a terrible idea.

[Mevara]

The punishment may not fit the crime but at least he is doing something.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Mevara

The punishment may not fit the crime but at least he is doing something.

The existence of punishment is a big deterrent for behavior. But the details of the punishment tend to shape how seriously both the act and the punishment are taken. That applies to corporal punishment and other forms of punishment for children.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Mevara

The punishment may not fit the crime but at least he is doing something.

But that something may be teaching son a different lesson from the one dad wants to teach him.