Today's parents are finding creative ways to punish their children. Or perhaps their parenting tactics seem more creative because they share anything that remotely deviates from the norm on social media, encouraging endless discussion.
Just last week, a father from Virginia took matters in his own hands after finding out his 10-year-old son was bullying children on the school bus. After the boy got kicked off the bus, instead of him driving him to school, he forced him to run a mile to school for a week - rain or shine.
His viral Facebook Live video had more than 1.5 million views, where hundreds of people weighed in on the father's parenting advice. He made a point that parents must take initiative when their kids are being rude.
However, not everyone thought the same. Some condemned him for shaming his child and making him fear authority.
Now another story of a mother punishing her kids has gone viral for a similar reason. This one may be a little more crazy...
The Canadian mother forced her two sons to walk more than four miles to school after they were rude to their bus driver.
She gave her children a cardboard sign that read, "Being bad and rude to our bus driver! Moms makin us walk."
In the viral Facebook post, the unnamed mother wrote that she took matters in her own hands when she got a call from the school that they were being "bad for their bus driver."
The post was shared more than 30,000 times and received more than 20,000 likes. While many approved of the mother's form of punishment, there were some people who were quick to report her.
They believed these elementary-aged boys were in danger, being forced to walk for two hours in snowy conditions by a rural road. Critics said the young boys should have been punished in a different way that didn't involve online shaming.
According to CBC, the mother was receiving threats, so she contacted the Children's Aid Society to explain her story.
Tina Gatt, manager of community outreach, told local reporters that posting the photos online was probably not the best idea, and believes shaming "simply is not going to motivate children to be better."
"I don't want to judge or pretend to know all of the nuances of this situation with this parent, but [it's] something to consider when we think about putting signs on kids that says what the bad behavior is and putting them in a position where you take their picture and put it on social media."
