Mom Uses Embarassment as Punishment

**ImmortalOne** · May 26th, 2008, 10:28 PM

OMAHA, Neb. -- A single mother said she is at her wits' end with her children's behavior, so she's making them hold signs at a busy intersection as punishment, reported television station KETV in Omaha.

Christina Wilcox and her children stood at an Omaha street corner on Thursday night. One son held a sign that said: "I'll never have a girlfriend. I can't respect my mom." Another son's sign proclaimed him a thief.

"They'll learn by embarrassment," Wilcox said. "They'll learn. I've tried grounding them and disciplining them in every form and way, and this the only way I can get through to them."

Mason, 7, is being punished for stealing.

"He's starting down the wrong road of thieving and then lying about it," Wilcox said. "He's thieved from a couple of friends, from a store, and I just don't want it to proceed."

Wilcox said that 5-year-old Elizabeth is following in her big brothers' footsteps, so she held a sign, too.

"They're not going to want to do it again, so there will be no more lying and no more thieving," Wilcox said.

Some drivers honked and gave Wilcox the thumbs up. Others shouted profanities. Wilcox said that everyone has a right to their own opinion, but she said she didn't know what else to do.

"I'm a single mom of three. I work full time, so time outs and everything else don't always work," she said.

Dustin Wilcox said he's not fazed by the punishment, but he said it does get him thinking.

"It really doesn't bother me standing out here doing this," Dustin said. "I've been trying to work on being more respectful, not yelling at my mom and not arguing with her."

The children held the signs for about and hour and 45 minutes. Wilcox said it was the last time they would hold the signs, and she thinks they got the message.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/family...66/detail.html

Guess its better than beating sense into them.

**Jaded** · May 26th, 2008, 10:47 PM

Time outs NEVER worked on my children......EVER!
The only thing that worked for me was to take away something they loved...until they could pull their heads outta their butts and fly right. Since my son got his XBox 360, all it takes is a whisper of a threat that I'll take it away for a week or two, and he's an angel.
Besides that....I've never seen what a beating would accomplish. Just makes your arm tired...

**celtic friend** · May 26th, 2008, 10:48 PM

It's too young, it won't work. Are they old enough to understand what not having a girlfriend means?
Where is the father? I know several kids that went through a stealing phase after their parents split up, and they were all pretty young like that. Of course I know of older kids w/parents together that stole simply for the thrill, but they were older then these kids.

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming that all children with divorced parents will steal.

**Jaded** · May 26th, 2008, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by celtic friend

It's too young, it won't work. Are they old enough to understand what not having a girlfriend means?
Where is the father? I know several kids that went through a stealing phase after their parents split up, and they were all pretty young like that. Of course I know of older kids w/parents together that stole simply for the thrill, but they were older then these kids.

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming that all children with divorced parents will steal.

Any 5 year old that I have ever known doesn't really even grasp the concept of embarrassment anyways.

**w8ng4msrgt** · May 27th, 2008, 12:02 AM

The signs work.

When I worked for a school district one of my school bus drivers was having a problem with a 12 or 13 yo girl. We went out to talk to the parents and the child and they said the behavior would improve. It didn't so her bus riding privileges were suspended for 3 days.

I can't tell you how many parents rely on the school system to take care of their kids so they can work. I feel for them but your family comes before any job.

These parents drove their daughter to the vacant Food Lion next door to her middle school and walked with her to/and from school while she wore a poster board sign that said "I don't know how to ride a school bus."

Yes she was jeered by some of the students but her attitude changed and never heard of a problem with her again.

**ashdavus** · May 27th, 2008, 12:08 AM

Last week my 13 year old thought it would be funny to write all over his 10 year old sister with a dry erase marker. What? he said to me, it'll wipe right off.

She was hurt that he would do that, so I took the marker and wrote JERK on his forehead. He started telling me what an asshole I was. I just looked at him like I was stupid and said "It'll wipe right off. You said so yourself." Half an hour later he finally had his forehead clean and he hasn't touched the marker since.

I know...I'm an asshole.

**ImmortalOne** · May 27th, 2008, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by ashdavus

Last week my 13 year old thought it would be funny to write all over his 10 year old sister with a dry erase marker. What? he said to me, it'll wipe right off.

She was hurt that he would do that, so I took the marker and wrote JERK on his forehead. He started telling me what an asshole I was. I just looked at him like I was stupid and said "It'll wipe right off. You said so yourself." Half an hour later he finally had his forehead clean and he hasn't touched the marker since.

I know...I'm an asshole.

wow you let him talk to you like that? I'd have done something to my kids, I refuse to allow disrespect like that.

**Death Angel** · May 27th, 2008, 01:15 AM

oh when i have kids im going to make sure to do the same thing AWESOME

**ashdavus** · May 27th, 2008, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by ImmortalOne

wow you let him talk to you like that? I'd have done something to my kids, I refuse to allow disrespect like that.

Oh no...that sort of speak around here earns you the esteemed honor of some of the nastiest household chores. Cleaning the toilet is one of my favorites, followed by taking out the bathroom garbage. Either one of those is generally gag-worthy. Then there's taking care of the dishes...especially punishing since he can't STAND to have sink goo on his hands.

**Smartypants** · May 27th, 2008, 02:03 AM

I make my kid put the gooey yucky hands on his xbox controller after doing the dishes, It may as well be prison.

**Dakota Valkyrie** · May 27th, 2008, 02:57 AM

I'm not sure the embarrassment factor would work on a 5yr old. A pre-teen and teen is when it works best. Just being seen with their mom is enough to send many young teens into a tizzy... add a sign and a busy street and miracles would probably occur.

I once went to detention for a week with my step son. He had done some minor thing (I can't even remember) and got one hour of detention. Then he kept "forgetting" to go so it bloomed into 5. I met him every day after school and sat with him in detention for an hour... just so he would remember to not forget. The remaining 3 years of high school had no further detentions.

**impqueen** · May 27th, 2008, 03:51 PM

I think the idea of signs is awesome. Public shaming is a beautiful thing.

I'm not sure that at five and seven children can really get the message. By ten or twelve or fifteen, oh HAIL YEAH.

**jlt080405** · May 27th, 2008, 06:48 PM

I probably shoulda given this a new thread but, it is along the same lines as this mom's punishment.

Judge Cicconetti was my mother's defense lawyer about 20 or so years ago in Lake County, Ohio.

He calls his court “the elementary school of crime” and says it’s his job to make sure defendants don’t graduate.

He addresses the defendants in his court by their first name. He is married with 5 children.

He customarily sentences defendants to jail time and offers to suspend the jail in lieu of an embarrassing sentence he feels will help to deter that particular crime in the future or help the community.

"Do we serve the community better like that or by putting someone in jail at a cost of $70 a day?” He attributes his unusual approach to his tough background. He was the oldest of nine siblings who had to work part-time collecting rubbish to fund himself through college and studied law at night school.

A drawer in his cramped office in the Painesville Municipal Courthouse is full of thank-you letters from both victims and criminals

Innovative and creative sentencing has brought Judge Cicconetti national and international attention. His sentencing practices have been the subject of articles in national and international news media publications and articles in nearly every major newspaper worldwide, all local and national news programs including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning Show, Fox News, Dr. Phil, Paula Zahn and Court TV.

Some of his sentences

One man caught with a loaded gun was sent to a morgue to see dead bodies

while a woman who abandoned 35 kittens in a forest was told to spend a night in the woods (during a very cold time of year). - Murray had been outside about four hours when Cicconetti allowed her to return to jail. The temperature has dipped into the 20s, and Cicconetti said he was worried about Murray’s health.

Murray is not getting off the hook. She must serve 29 days under house arrest, has been sentenced to three years of probation and must pay $3,200 in restitution to the Lake County Humane Society and $500 to Lake Metroparks, reported the Chillicothe Gazette.

A defendant who called a police officer a pig spent two hours inside a pen with a 350 lb. pig,
complete with a sign saying: "This is not a police officer." - Thompson, 48, lives just a few blocks from the courthouse and often gives the judge a friendly wave when he sees him. Thompson says he hasn’t been in trouble since.

Two teenagers who scrawled 666 on a nativity figure of Jesus also got a
taste of the judge's justice. They had to lead a donkey through the streets, with a sign saying: "Sorry for the jackass offense"

A driver who ran away from police was ordered to run in a race and his finishing
position would determine his sentence. He trained hard, finished fifth and spent five
days in jail.

A couple caught having sex on the beach of Lake Erie were told to apologise in local newspapers

sentenced a kid with a loud radio to sit quietly in the woods

A man who stole a Salvation Army donation kettle containing $250 the week before Christmas was sentenced by a Cleveland-area judge to spend the night homeless. The judge then ordered Smith to empty his pockets of everything except his identification so he would know what it's like to have nothing. Smith was outfitted with a GPS anklet and given probation office numbers to call in an emergency. His mother was allowed to give him a hooded sweatshirt and snow pants.

Cicconetti first experimented with alternative sentencing with motorists who sped through school zones, making them spend a day working as a school crossing guard.

I am sure there are tons more out there. According to Cicconetti this creative and tax saving sentencing method does not always work, but, in most cases he does not see the defendants in court again.

There has been national controversy over this sentencing method, another judge in Florida has garnered national attention on at least one occasion as well.

**Dakota Valkyrie** · May 27th, 2008, 06:54 PM

A driver who ran away from police was ordered to run in a race and his finishing
position would determine his sentence. He trained hard, finished fifth and spent five
days in jail.

That's my favorite!

**jlt080405** · May 27th, 2008, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Dakota_Valkyrie

A driver who ran away from police was ordered to run in a race and his finishing
position would determine his sentence. He trained hard, finished fifth and spent five
days in jail.

That's my favorite!

The worst part with that one, although it is funny, is that he used his new found physical prowess to later snatch a purse and run away. This is one of the two that I am aware of where cicconetti took heat for the original sentence.

**Jaded** · May 27th, 2008, 07:03 PM

A defendant who called a police officer a pig spent two hours inside a pen with a 350 lb. pig,
complete with a sign saying: "This is not a police officer." - Thompson, 48, lives just a few blocks from the courthouse and often gives the judge a friendly wave when he sees him. Thompson says he hasn’t been in trouble since.

Hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Only 2 hours though?
Very inventive punishments....

**SoUncool** · May 27th, 2008, 08:17 PM

I think for my daugther, all it would take would be for me to walk her to her class in MIDDLE SCHOOL with curlers, a bathrobe and slippers. (None of which I wear.) She would be mortified if I just SHOWED UP at her school period. Maybe I'll dress like a bag lady...she made fun of a homeless guy yesterday evening on a bench outside Publix. That would teach her...! Now you guys have me plotting revenge on my lazy-ass kid. Can't wait!!

**maryhaze** · May 27th, 2008, 09:45 PM

never mind that. do the whole 80's thing. aquanet BIG hair, fishnets, a mini & a sequin tube top. that's the ultimate. & i've got all the stuff (evil laugh).