Parents Publicly Humiliate Misbehaving Teens: Is This Abuse Or Good Parenting?

Parents in many states have gone to publicly humiliating their misbehaving children to the celebration of some and the condemnation of others.

Those in the “Pro” camp often cite that public humiliation works as a parenting tool because it serves as an incentive to keep kids from acting out in the future.

The “Anti” camp believe that public humiliation can damage the child’s self-esteem permanently and lead to further misbehavior and a lack of self-worth.

The Inquisitr has reported on many of these stories over the last year in which a kid — usually a teen — gets caught doing something they shouldn’t, and Mom and Dad take to Facebook or some other social network to embarrass their kids and call them out on the misbehavior.

That said, get ready to add another one to the list.

In Marmaduke, Arkansas, 13-year-old Kiara and 14-year-old Dillon Aaron were forced to stand outside holding humiliating signs announcing their crimes to the world after damaging property and lying to police, KAIT8 reports.

“I’m not trying to set a standard for no other parent. What I will do, set a standard for my child,” said Jack Aaron, Kiara and Dillon’s father.

Their mother agreed and indicated that this was a culmination of punishments they’ve tried in the past.

“We’ve threatened them with the law, we’ve punished them, grounded them, taken their phones away,” said Kim Aaron.

This time around Dillon “threw a stolen scooter up a shop building” and caused more than $500 worth of damage. Kiara was reportedly there for the incident but lied to police and said she wasn’t.

Kim and Jack admitted to spanking the kids and grounding them for a month, but they didn’t stop there.

“It was embarrassing, so I want them to feel the embarrassment I had to feel that night,” Kim said.

Kim and Jack had Kiara and Dillon write out two large signs.

“I disrespect cops, I am a smart mouth little kid!!” said Kiara’s sign. “I’m sorry MPD. I’m Kiara Culberson.”

“I tear up property! I lie to cops! I think like a punk!! I’m Dillon Aaron,” read the other.

Kim and Jack stood with the kids while they were holding the signs, and KAIT8 reports that some passers-by even called out things like, “Good job, Dad!”

Kiara thinks the punishment from her parents definitely worked.

“All my teachers knew about it, all my friends knew about it. They were all asking me questions,” Kiara said. “Now, even if I wasn’t the one doing the damage, just me being associated with the people that were, that puts a bad name on me.”

Do you think these parents have the right idea for how to punish their children, or is public humiliation a bad choice? Sound off in the comments section!