UPDATED: When does disciplining a child become abuse?

It’s time to put on your “opinion hat” because this topic is a doozy.

This morning it was revealed that a Townsville mother forced her child to sit for an hour in a public place on Sunday wearing a sign that said, “Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief.”

According to the  report on News.com.au

“The boy, thought to be aged about 10, was also wearing Shrek ears and writing lines in what appeared to a form of public punishment, according to dozens of witnesses who contacted the Townsville Bulletin.  The boy spent almost an hour on Sunday near a popular waterpark in Townsville while his family ate lunch nearby.”

Witnesses claim the boy was mocked by other children his age walking past (hardly surprising).  Meanwhile former child safety worker Diane Mayers was so horrified by what she witnessed she called Child Safety Services claiming the long term effects of such a public humiliation were far more damaging than physical abuse.

Since we posted about this story this morning, more details have come to light about the young boy. According to his mother he has a long history of shop-lifting and she has tried everything to stop him (including visits to the police). You can read about that here.

Keep in mind that just three years ago Northern Territory father Sam Burt was applauded for disciplining his five-year-old-son when the little boy was banned from the school bus for a week  for hitting the bus driver with an apple core.  Burt made his son walk to school for a week — that’s a 13 km trip. The father and son did the two-and-a-half hour walk together — getting up at 5am every morning to reach school on time.  And I remember seeing an interview at the time with the father who said he and his son had many interesting conversations that week about ‘doing the right thing’.

UPDATED: We asked psychologist Jo Lamble for her thoughts on the situation and if damage can be done by humilating a child. Here’s what Jo said …

“The golden rule is to never humiliate your child. The shame they feel can last a lifetime. A single episode of humiliation is the most common trigger for teenage suicide. Having said that, I can understand that parents want to be able to dish out appropriate punishments to their children and they are feeling less and less able to do this. Many young children steal and parents understandably panic. An appropriate punishment would be making the child front up to the shop or person from whom they stole, confess, apologise and offer to pay back the money or value of the goods or work to pay it off. The child would still feel embarassed, but not the public humiliation that can be so dangerous to their self-worth.”

Clearly we don’t know the whole story but what do you think?  Did the Townsville mother go too far?  How would you have handled this situation? What’s the worst punishment you received as a child?