Girl Spanked in Front of Classmates at High School

Associated Press ^ | February 24, 2004

[wallcrawlr]

CUDAHY, Wis. -- The Cudahy School District has changed its visitation policy for parents after a father spanked his daughter in front of other students in her high school biology class.

``The students were horrified,'' James P. Heiden, the district's director of student services, said of the incident. ``It took everybody by complete surprise.''

Both Cudahy police and the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare have reviewed the case at the school district's request, and neither found basis for child abuse or neglect.

``Obviously it's unusual to have a girl spanked in front of the class, it's highly unusual, but not a police matter, not at this time from the information we received,'' said Cudahy police Sgt. Randy Scheel.

Heiden said the district visitation policy now calls for parents to meet with students only in the office, not a classroom.

The girl's mother, contacted at home Monday evening, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel her daughter ``comes from a very loving family. There's nothing to be concerned about.''

She described the spanking as a misjudgment for which the family apologized to the school. Police said they had no record of prior contact with anyone in the family.

School officials said the girl had disrupted her biology class Feb. 11, leading assistant principal Greg DePue to notify her father when he was at school the next day addressing a situation with another child.

DePue said the father entered the classroom, called his daughter to the front and told her he would not have her disrupting class. He then told the girl to turn around, and spanked her on her bottom, the assistant principal said.

``It was so fast,'' DePue said. ``It just happened.''

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't agree that the father should be praised. I firmly believe in disciplining children, however, doing this to a teenage girl in front of a class is extremely inappropriate.

I think it depends on what she did. If her disruption of the class the day before gained her attention and the rebellious respect of her peers, it seems extremely fitting for her humiliation to be there. It is possible that the girl got exactly the kind of attention for her behavior that she needed.

I know that some parents go too far in spanking.... I had a teen friend whose father made no attempt to hide the use of a belt on her during her own slumber party. We did and do find that sad. But this may not have been that. I can think of smart alecky kids that this would have been good for!

[Mr. Mojo]

Spanking a teenager in front of her classmates? The guy sounds like a first-class schmuck who probably was at the receiving end of embarrassing (and public) ass-whoppins when he was her age.

[50sDad]

Agreed. There is a vast difference from one whack on a misbehaving child's backside to teach them where the boundaries are, and several whacks everywhere else to make the parent feel less mad. We would be better off if society recognized the desirability of the former along the way to rightfully rejecting the latter.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

"School is a place where you can get spanked by a middle aged woman. Later in life you have to pay for the same treatment."

Paraphrased from Emo

[stanz]

He expects to change her classroom behavior.

That ain't gonna do it.

[Mr. Mojo]

He expects to change her classroom behavior

Then have a talk with her in private. ....take away the car keys. .....cut the allowance. Spanking someone that age is a sure indication that the father isn't dealing with a full deck. ....And to do so in that setting is a sure indication that he's a sadistic POS.

[HairOfTheDog]

Spanking a kid that age is, IMNSHO, ridiculous.

I was a teenager when my mom tried to swat me on the butt for the last time... I was quick enough to duck out of the way and she hit the corner of the refrigerator instead in just a way to break a bone or two in the back of her hand. By the time we got her to the hospital it had become funny. The Admitting nurse asked how she had injured it, and she said "I was trying to hit my kid". LOL!

[MEGoody]

"He sounds like a real a-hole."

Or, he may have made an a-hole mistake like we all do from time to time.

[HairOfTheDog]

Mighty harsh diagnosis on little information there doc.

[Mr. Mojo]

The info was sufficient for the diagnosis.

[fella]

Punishment should be "swift and just" as this was. Not like our legal system, "justice delayed is justice denied". If more parents acted as this father did our children would not be leaving high school unable to read ad write.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

In complete agreement.

[Gottwnz]

LOL, Ain't that the truth.

[stanz]

Maybe I suffer from having a child who never caused me any behavioral problems. I am lucky. But, still, there were times when I regret having said things which were embarrassing to her. I can't imagine a girl being treated like that by her own father in front of people she must face day in and day out. I hope he regrets his stupidity for the rest of his life. I also think that this act just might make her more rebellious if she even is rebellious at all. It certainly isn't going to accomplish anything positive.

[HairOfTheDog]

We don't know what she did.... but smarting off in class so your friends all think you are cool? The humiliation of being spanked like a little kid in front of the same friends sounds pretty appropriate.

[ccmay]

I firmly believe in spanking in the context of a normal loving family relationship. However, if you have to spank your kid after he or she is about 7 years old, you have already failed.

My wife and I agreed on a few ground rules when we had kids:

• Spanking only for repeated, defiant, willful disobedience after warnings of the consequences, or when the child did something that could cause immediate physical harm to himself or someone else.
• Spanking only with the open hand and only upon the buttocks
• No "wait till Dad gets home", but spanking immediately if called for.
• No pulling down pants
• No spanking in front of others (including siblings)
• No spanking when too angry to control ourselves
• Spanking hard enough to cause pain, but not so hard as to cause injury
• Always explaining in an age-appropriate way what the spanking was for, and how they could have avoided it.
• No spanking before age 1 or after age 6

If I may say so, this method has produced two very well-adjusted, well-behaved, pleasant children. We have probably had to spank the kids less than a dozen times each.

-ccm

[WOSG]

"Does he expect to gain her respect by humiliating her in front of classmates?"

hmmm, since when does a misbehaving child need to have their respect-recognition catered to? it seems the lack of respect is her problem. It also seems the humiliation and embarrassment was a way to feel shame over her behavior ... she must have been doing something bad if the teacher had to call the parent in on it.


It's funny how people feel the need to criticize the Dad for doing this, but no criticism on this thread was made to the daughter for starting the ball rolling. imho, let this family figure out how to handle themselves.

[No Blue States]

"high school is too old for a father to physically discipline his child. she's becoming a young lady and lines must be drawn that respect that."

I agree completely, take her cell phone or ground her from the mall or something. This guy isnt very smart and will not get the result he was after.

[calljack]

punish in private
praise in public

[u-89]

My father had a construction company that did a lot of work on public schools throughout the state. He witnesses an exact act like this back in the mid '70s.

A woman asks him where a certain teacher's class was. Thinking nothing of it he pointed it out. A few minutes later he heard a big commotion and ran to see what it was. He thought the woman was going after the teacher. When he got to the class the woman was giving her daughter a "whoopin" in front of the class to teach her a lesson. Turns out the girl had been a problem student, the school couldn't straighten her out, mom told her at home to straighten out, she didn't so mom made a public spectacle out of her punishment and promised to do it again if she continued to act up. Point is the girl didn't like being humiliated in front of her peers. Tough justice got her mind right.

The inner city had a dirty trick to control problem kids. Welfare moms got a certain sum for each dependent kid. I forget the details but the school would threaten to expel kids which would threaten the amount of the welfare check. There was something about the kid being in school meant more money (would also find kids 20-21 still in high school). So if mom wanted to keep the money rolling the kid had to stay in school and voila! - trouble kid got "religion" before he got expelled.