Mom Makes Teen Stand on Street With Sign

[Sam]

Child abuse? C'mon...

*************************************************************
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stori ... 02372.html

LAS VEGAS SUN > NEWS > U.S. > GENERAL NEWS
November 16, 2005

Mom Makes Teen Stand on Street With Sign
By SEAN MURPHY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) -

Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.

She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: "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."

"This may not work. I'm not a professional," said Henderson, a 34-year-old mother of three. "But I felt I owed it to my child to at least try."

In fact, Henderson has seen a turnaround in her daughter's behavior in the past week and a half. But the punishment prompted letters and calls to talk radio from people either praising the woman or blasting her for publicly humiliating her daughter.

"The parents of that girl need more education than she does if they can't see that the worst scenario in this case is to kill their daughter psychologically," Suzanne Ball said in a letter to The Oklahoman.

Marvin Lyle, 52, said in an interview: "I don't see anything wrong with it. I see the other extreme where parents don't care what the kids do, and at least she wants to help her kid."

Coretha has been getting C's and D's as a freshman at Edmond Memorial High in this well-to-do Oklahoma City suburb. Edmond Memorial is considered one of the top high schools in the state in academics.

While Henderson stood next to her daughter at the intersection, a passing motorist called police with a report of psychological abuse, and an Oklahoma City police officer took a report. Mother and daughter were asked to leave after about an hour, and no citation was issued. But the report was forwarded to the state Department of Human Services.

"There wasn't any criminal act involved that the officer could see that would require any criminal investigation," Master Sgt. Charles Phillips said. "DHS may follow up."

DHS spokesman Doug Doe would not comment on whether an investigation was opened, but suggested such a case would probably not be a high priority.

Tasha Henderson said her daughter's attendance has been perfect and her behavior has been better since the incident.

Coretha, a soft-spoken girl, acknowledged the punishment was humiliating but said it got her attention. "I won't talk back," she said quietly, hanging her head.

She already has been forced by her parents to give up basketball and track because of slipping grades, and said she hopes to improve in school so she can play next year.

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

"The trick is to catch them being good," he said. "It sounds like this mother has not had a chance to catch her child being good or is so upset over seeing her be bad, that's where the focus is."

[bumper]

One of those pivotal moments in a child's life. The message is clear, mom's motivation is good...but who knows how the kid perceives it...she will either pull herself up and out or confirm to her at some level she is a loser...roll of the dice

[ph4ever]

I can't believe the school district didn't make the child give up sports. In the state where my son went to school you've got to maintain your grades in order to participate in extra-curricular activities.

That being said, I'm with Bumper. While the mom's intentions are good they could very well backfire. There's got to be another reason this child was having problems and those should be determined and addressed as well. It is also a misconception that people who are homeless standing on a street corner with a sign are not educated. I'm sure that if the mom went to a few Oklahoma City homeless shelters and actually spent some time there she would change her tune.

[nycparrothead]

Horrible thing to do to a child... But... It's not my child so I think this is HILARIOUS!!!

[BoozeInTheBlender]

Seeing how this happened in Oklahoma, I wonder if CRC went through the same thing?

[Lundah]

I don't see anything wrong with this. You kid is acting like a dumbass, so you send them out on a street corner for an afternoon with a sign like this? Brilliant! I hope it straightened the kid out, I went to school with kids who's parents should have tried this.

[ToplessRideFL]

I don't see anything wrong with this. You kid is acting like a dumbass, so you send them out on a street corner for an afternoon with a sign like this? Brilliant!

I agree......

[AlbatrossFlyer]

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

this sums up everything that is wrong with the educational system today. kids never learn the harsh reality of failure anymore.

[CadiRita]

Regarding the professor, Donald Wertlieb's quote: "The trick is to catch them being good," he said. "It sounds like this mother has not had a chance to catch her child being good or is so upset over seeing her be bad, that's where the focus is."

I can attest that when your child is having issues, it's very difficult to "catch them being good". Not because you don't want to, but when they're in their defiant phase, they don't think about the repercussions of their actions on anyone; themselves included. They screw up, get caught & in trouble and they still blame the parents. They haven't yet developed the understanding that they do these things to themselves.

Also, it shouldn't be a "trick" to find them exhibiting good behavior. It should be a way of life. Know what I mean?

[buffettbride]

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

this sums up everything that is wrong with the educational system today. kids never learn the harsh reality of failure anymore.

you couldn't be more right.

as much as it killed me to do this, victoria forgot her english book at school yesterday and had homework she couldn't do because of it. it was very, very, very hard not to 'rescue' her and drive to the school to get the book so she could do it.

[LIPH]

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

this sums up everything that is wrong with the educational system today. kids never learn the harsh reality of failure anymore.

The people who live next door to me are both high school teachers. They used to help their son with all his school work and he was an A student. He got to college and decided he wanted to be an accountant. His parents don't teach accounting (or math) so he had to do his own work. He flunked out in his sophomore year.

[Lundah]

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

this sums up everything that is wrong with the educational system today. kids never learn the harsh reality of failure anymore.

Much like learning to ride a bicycle, you have to fall a few times first before you realize how great it is to get up and get going...

[rednekkPH]

I'm with the dancing pickle on this one. The kid was being an ass, I say embarass the hell out of her. Not only should she have to hold the sign, the parents should have paid people to walk by and harass her, or drive by and throw eggs at her. It's all about the ends justifying the means.

[AlbatrossFlyer]

kids won't naturally sit still in a restaurant and behave themselves, mom and dad have to teach them to, and it's NOT alright to run around like it's a playground.

[nycparrothead]

kids won't naturally sit still in a restaurant and behave themselves, mom and dad have to teach them to, and it's NOT alright to run around like it's a playground.

Wait! It's not okay?

[ph4ever]

kids won't naturally sit still in a restaurant and behave themselves, mom and dad have to teach them to, and it's NOT alright to run around like it's a playground.

OMG THAT BUGS THE CRAP OUTTA ME!!! I just wanna jerk up the parents and scream "if you don't teach them discipline now how will you handle them when they are 16??"

[LIPH]

kids won't naturally sit still in a restaurant and behave themselves, mom and dad have to teach them to, and it's NOT alright to run around like it's a playground.

OMG THAT BUGS THE CRAP OUTTA ME!!! I just wanna jerk up the parents and scream "if you don't teach them discipline now how will you handle them when they are 16??"

The problem is a lot of parents think anything their little brats do is just so adorable. I usually don't agree.

[bumper]

lot more issues playing out then what is talked about in the article. Mom is gonna have to follow up and push her child to perform. Putting her on a street corner unigue as it was, was shock value and that wears off rather quickly. What mom does next when challenged again will be important to either building a foundation for her child to draw from or leaving the kid questioning herself and her direction.........but....most discipline is a roll of the dice..never know how a kid is perceive things in our highy charged PC environment....

[bumper]

kids won't naturally sit still in a restaurant and behave themselves, mom and dad have to teach them to, and it's NOT alright to run around like it's a playground.

OMG THAT BUGS THE CRAP OUTTA ME!!! I just wanna jerk up the parents and scream "if you don't teach them discipline now how will you handle them when they are 16??"

They're just exploring their environment
my kids always had a hard time exploring new enviornments with my foot firmly planted up their arsses...

[phjrsaunt]

"Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective."


(this guy was obviously not reared in a military family!)