How Do You Punish Your Children

How Would You Punish Your Child?

May 1, 2008

Whether your wee one is redecorating the living room with her Crayola colors or finding new uses for your cosmetics, there comes a time for the adult in us to step in and take control.

Luckily, most of us don't have to deal with situations like the one below, where 7-year-old Latarian Milton took his grandmother's car on a several mile joyride because he was mad at his mother.

After running over two mailboxes, hitting two parked and two moving cars, the boy does believe he should be punished — with "no video games for a whole weekend."

After watching the video, how would you discipline your child if he did this?

20 Comments

4 years 6 days

never in my live has this been a category in my book. I only use spanking as a last resort in the worst of cases but this goes way beyond the window.

roxtarchic 5 years 3 weeks

okay he STOLE A CAR AND DROVE IT... because he was mad at his mom... i didnt even watch the vid because this kind of thing makes me nuts... oh take away my video games for a weekend... child please. try EVERYTHING YOU PLAY WITH... gone. and the only time he'd be allowed outta the house is to mow the lawns for the people whose mailboxes he ruined... and i like the community service suggestion above... i'm thinkin he should be helping in a soup kitchen on the wk/ends... bring a lil reality and humility to this boy

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 3 weeks

FIrst, that would never be my child, Second I would punish this child to the extent (sans spanking) taking away all toys, games, extra activities untill I thought they were punished enough. I am talking in thier room, reading a book..or staring at ceiling.

amber_castaldo 5 years 3 weeks

We do a mix of time outs aka breaks and toys taken away. Sometimes he puts himself in time out with a big teary eyed sorry mama, sorry before I even know what the problem was.

alethia037 5 years 3 weeks

I am with blackjade on this one - some serious community service, and some serious grounding as well.

BlairBear 5 years 3 weeks

If he were my kid, he would get all of his toys taken away, video games get thrown away, he can't play with any of his friends, extra chores, no tv, no sweets, and it would be this way for about six months. He would also have to apologize to everyone whose car he hit. I would make him talk to a 'hoodrat' sitting in jail and have him tell the kid how bad it is. He would remember that punishment FOREVER and never want to do anything like that ever again, cos if he did, that punishment would be twice as bad. I'm not afraid to punish my kids.

lms 5 years 3 weeks

sorry...didn't mean to post twice.

lms 5 years 3 weeks

That child needs to be sent to whatever the closest thing to juvenile detention for a kid his age is. He said he wanted to be a "hoodrat" which I guess he means a thug. He is on the wrong track and I can relate to his grandmother wanting to knock some sense into him. He needs to get out of the environment that he is in, and into a really structured one. I know this is easier said than done, but he has bad influences around him. On a side note...he needs to get a healthier diet b/c no 7 year old should look like that. He looks like he gets/does whatever he wants and that includes food.I think these laws that have parents afraid to discipline their children should be looked upon more closely. Children of today have horrible attitudes b/c parents are afraid to discipline them.If that was my child I don't have a clue what I would do b/c I can't imagine my child even getting anywhere as bad as that.

lms 5 years 3 weeks

That child needs to be sent to whatever the closest thing to juvenile detention for a kid his age is. He said he wanted to be a "hoodrat" which I guess he means a thug. He is on the wrong track and I can relate to his grandmother wanting to knock some sense into him. He needs to get out of the environment that he is in, and into a really structured one. I know this is easier said than done, but he has bad influences around him. On a side note...he needs to get a healthier diet b/c no 7 year old should look like that. He looks like he gets/does whatever he wants and that includes food. I think these laws that have parents afraid to discipline their children should be looked upon more closely. Children of today have horrible attitudes b/c parents are afraid to discipline them. If that was my child I don't have a clue what I would do b/c I can't imagine my child even getting anywhere as bad as that.

lms 5 years 3 weeks

That child needs to be sent to whatever the closest thing to juvenile detention for a kid his age is. He said he wanted to be a "hoodrat" which I guess he means a thug. He is on the wrong track and I can relate to his grandmother wanting to knock some sense into him. He needs to get out of the environment that he is in, and into a really structured one. I know this is easier said than done, but he has bad influences around him. On a side note...he needs to get a healthier diet b/c no 7 year old should look like that. He looks like he gets/does whatever he wants and that includes food. I think these laws that have parents afraid to discipline their children should be looked upon more closely. Children of today have horrible attitudes b/c parents are afraid to discipline them. If that was my child I don't have a clue what I would do b/c I can't imagine my child even getting anywhere as bad as that.

POPSUGAR Moms 5 years 3 weeks

The situation is unbelievable — especially the seven-year-old sidekick who was smoking? So glad no one was injured! And, hopefully this boy gets some help.

sarahinparis 5 years 3 weeks

In addition to various punishment for this infraction, I would be getting this kid some serious counseling. I suspect that this isn't the first time he's exhibited this attitude. I bet there are some other family issues that need to be worked out - he's not getting the structure and discipline (maybe even attention) he needs.

kikidawn 5 years 3 weeks

I totally agree with faerymagick15! My kid would be in serious trouble about this.This kid sounds like he has no respect at all. Horrible.

kikidawn 5 years 3 weeks

I totally agree with faerymagick15! My kid would be in serious trouble about this. This kid sounds like he has no respect at all. Horrible.

blackjade 5 years 3 weeks

This guy would be getting old fashioned community service - i.e. he'd be at the beck and call of the neighbors and people affected by what he did (wash cars, empty the trash, mow lawns, weed gardens...). And when he wasn't doing that he'd be at home doing one of two things: homework, writing letters to each person who's property he destroyed. That would be his life, everyday, for a month.

blackjade 5 years 3 weeks

sweetnshy5282 5 years 3 weeks

if this were my kid he wouldn't leave his bedroom for a month at least maybe longer! and did he say that his 7 yr old friend smoked cigarettes?! sounds like things have been going downhill for this boy for a while now...

jennifer76 5 years 3 weeks

Totally agree with faerymagick15. Time outs? Taking toys away? This was SERIOUSLY horrendous behavior.

faerymagick15 5 years 3 weeks

This kid needs serious therapy! He has "jailbird" written all over him. And his attitude is awful!! I think I would take everything away from him, make up a list of things he had to do to earn money to pay me back for all the damages, and he would be grounded for at least a month if not longer. This was a serious offense that could have killed someone...OR HIM!!

subtleheights 5 years 3 weeks

i say taking something of much importance away. that may be playdates with friends, video games, extra chores he hates doing ,all within a reasonable length of time in which he can aCTUALLLY feel the hurt.

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20 Comments

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