Dad tries unique punishment for vandalizing son

Can we make the dad wear a sandwich board that says, "I did a bad job of raising my son, and ignored him to the point where he committed multiple acts of vandalism."

 

At some point, children have to take responsibility for their own actions and it ain't the parents.

At some point, "kids are just going to do what they're going to do. They are like people that way," to quote that great mother Roseanne.

 

Some idiot mom did this recently with her kid as well; that also might have been for vandalism.

So if the kid does do it again, what's the next step? A larger font on the sign? Forced to walk naked and covered only in gang signs?

 

A little bit of this strikes me as a media-savvy dad having his "Joe the Plumber" moment.

 

Turn him in. Have him sent either to juvy or to jail for a night or two.

 

You can't just have them sent there. It would be nice if you could (for lesson-teaching purposes), but you can't.

 

I wonder how many of you who criticized the dad's decision are actually parents. And don't say it doesn't make a difference because it does. Any attempt to claim otherwise is just foolish.

 

Damn, dude. Where you been?

Great to have you back.

 

I'm a parent and I think it's bush league parenting.

 

Maybe he said it and it didn't make the story, but if the dad took any responsibility, I missed it. If you ask the son to man up and take responsibility for his actions, then what about the father?

Yes, yes, I know. It's possible to be a great parent and for your kids to do something stupid. (I remember that Cosby Show episode where Vanessa smoked a cigaratte.)

 

Yup. And, even if I didn't get creeped out by that part, I'd get creeped out by this seeming to be about the dad and not the kid.

 

I'm also a parent and won't pass judgment on the guy because I have no idea what I'd do to get my kid going in the right direction. My father was a Vietnam War-era drill sergeant and though I never got the sandwich-board treatment, I was dealt some very public and creative punishments. Some of it was good, one in particular caused a falling out that lasted several years, but I look back on it now and realize he was doing the best he knew how.

Again, I don't agree with it, but it's not in the realm where I'll pass judgment.