You can read more about this "mean" and "uncool" mom in the Des Moines Register. If you have trouble reading from the picture of the ad, it reads:
OLDS 1999 Intrigue, Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love their teenage son are selling his car. He only drove it for 3 weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under the front seat. $3,700 obo. Call meanest mom on the planet.Were this a first offense, I might label it extreme; but I don't know the background so I won't comment on that. All I have to say is it's pretty gutsy of the parents to follow through (the car sold in two weeks, they ran the ad an extra week because of the number of supportive phone calls they got). And the kid should've listened to the rules.
Mrs. E and I keep talking around this issue right now (proper discipline for the kids). We keep doing checks to see if what we try to enforce is legitimate character-building discipline or if it is spirit-breaking. When you harp on a 4-year old a million times a day on the same issue, you have to ask yourself that. Parental discipline is never easy.
What are some of the discipline techniques you use for your children? Are they effective?
Tags: Parenting, Discipline, Car Ad, Uncool Parents, Des Moines, Gutsy
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4 comments:
This is so cool! Both of my boys have gotten their licenses in the last 4 months and they both now have cars...I'll remember this.
We use grounding...from whatever is important to them at the time. For one of ours, it's being grounded from going anywhere with his friends. He can't stand sitting still! For the other, it's being grounded from the computer and video games, because he rarely asks to go anywhere other than the video store. I think grounding is effective when you tailor it to the child and take away the one or two things they enjoy.
I think this was awesome. The mom had two rules: no alcohol, and keep the doors locked. And she stuck with what she'd said.
I don't have kids, but in my experience teaching some problem children at church, what children need is consistency and limits. It doesn't matter what kind of punishment you give; it just needs to be clear to the child that if she breaks the rules, a specific punishment will actually happen, and it will be the same thing (or more serious punishment) each time.
As to whether it's effective, again, I have little basis for judging, but I can usually silence the GA's with my eyebrows, so something's working. :)
Wow! That is pretty extreme, but hopefully he gets the point after that!
Personally, because my children have VERY different personalities, I am learning that they need different discipline. My oldest almost needs extreme things, before he gets the picture....things like losing a beloved toy for awhile, or a priviledge he really wanted to do, and my youngest listens with a firm "no."
It's interesting...
My biggest issues are obedience and respect. I draw a hard line when it comes to those two things – and disobedience is disrespect of my authority. Using "kind and loving sounds and actions" - I say it over and over. For a disrespectful mouth I use vinegar - I have it in a mini spray bottle and I carry it in my purse. This works for my son because he is particular about what goes in his mouth (except the occasional booger). Sorry. The vinegar does NOT work for my daughter - she likes the taste. AND she learns A LOT about what NOT to do by watching her brother "get it". I have various punishments for disobedience depending on the issue. As texasinafrica said, it's about consistency. It has to happen EVERY time for it to work. When a child knows there is a chance to get away with something - they will take that chance. If I know every time I touch something hot I'm gonna get burned - I'm not gonna touch something hot.
As with this mom - if I have a rule and it gets broken then I have to stand by the punishment or my word means nothing to them. That's why we have to think through before we say.
The way I see it, if my children can’t respect their father and mother, how will they respect and obey their God and Father who they cannot see?
Well, I've rambled. Interesting post.
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