Forcing a 7-year-old to keep hot sauce in his mouth as discipline - is that chi

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   ptosisposted 14 years ago

   Forcing a 7-year-old to keep hot sauce in his mouth as discipline  - is that child abuse?
   
   And would your answer change depending on the hot peppers on the Scoville scale?
   
   Habanero, Jamaican hot pepper, Cayenne pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper?
   
   I used to put Lousiana Hot pepper sauce on the edge of the rug so that my puppy wouldn't chew on it. It worked. Have you ever seen a dog sneeze.  Was I abusive with the puppy?
   
   

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   Sarah Massonposted 14 years ago

   There's a massive difference between putting it in a childs mouth and leaving it on the edge of a rug as an avoidance method for a puppy. You didn't shove it in the puppy's mouth, you just didn't want it to go near the rug.
   I think what this lady did is disgusting and she needs to get her head checked. There are plenty of more productive ways of teaching children things than being horrible and probably leaving him with mental scarring for life.

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   CARIBQUEENposted 14 years ago

   Oh dear, that is rough and tough! How can anyone imagine eating hot sauce as a form of discipline. There are so many different methods to discipline a child. Can we place ourselves in that child's shoes and wonder how we would feel. The thought is actually horrible. A parent needs to be patient and understanding and always correct and discipline in love. You can ban the child from his/her favorite program on television, you can send the child to his/her room, you can curtail play dates. You can reprimand the child and dissuade the behavior. Seven-year olds are still at tender ages and sometimes do not comprehend as fully as adults think they should. Sometimes, misbehavior is due to lack of attention and love on the parents' part - so we have to try and determine what actually caused the child to behave in a particular way and try to take it from there. Embracing our children in spite of the attitudes and behavior and letting them know that despite the corrections and suitable punishments, that we still love them.
   
   Puppies on the other hand are different. They would not actually eat the pepper and if they did - would definitely not be going near pepper anymore. Pepper was used in this instance to deter the puppy from chewing the rug. The scent alone would deter the puppy and if the pepper is placed frequently near the rug, the puppy may associate the smell with all rugs and may not want to chew on rugs anymore.

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   MarlonCposted 14 years ago

   This reminds me of the Lars von Trier movie Dogville: an approach to discipline that is callous at best and most likely counter-productive.  Anyone thinking that it is not so bad compared to things they underwent as a child is missing the point - this sounds like child torture to me.

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   pitzeleposted 14 years ago

   I guess my answer would depend upon multiple variables. 
   1)  Some children have a high tolerance for spicy food.  My kids love hot salsa,curry, and pepperoncinis.  They have since they were small.
   2)  Yes, my answer would depend upon how high on the scale the heat is.
   I'm not sure if it is abuse, but complete ignorance and stupidity with an utter disregard for the welfare of the child.  If that is what you define as abuse, then I guess that is what we are speaking of.

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      ptosisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Don't know which pepper but jaloka bhut is the hottest - right up there with police mace.  Next is the habenaro. Jalepeno were pretty mild. Soap mouth never stopped me from swearing.

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   Silver Poetposted 14 years ago

   Once when I put Tabasco on a wooden doghouse to make the dog stop eating it, she ate it all the more!  I read a book that said mustard was a better deterrent.  So I put mustard on a wicker table to stop a different dog and a cat from tearing it up.  The cat liked the mustard!  Can't win sometimes.

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   mviadamposted 14 years ago

   I don't see how you can compare hot sauce to dog crap, but to each his own.
   
   The problem is that this type of punishment doesn't fit the crime in anyway and will not affect future behavior other than causing fear and resentment. Sure, he may not swear again (in front of you) but if this is your style of punishment, physical punishment for behavior issues, you will create psychological problems.
   
   Try to think of punishments that fit the crime.  It takes more effort on your end, and its harder, but you are the one who chose to have kids, and this is part of the gig.
   
   If your kid mouths off to you, make him memorize a line from some book, explain the meaning and have him commit the meaning and quote to memory.
   
   So many parents use a 1 punishment fits all approach, what a waste.  Your kids won't respect you, they'll grow to think you are an idiot.

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   Edoka Writesposted 14 years ago

   I'm not sure if it's abuse; but it is mean and hurtful. That said, the one spanking my dad bestowed upon me was mean and hurtful, but he never had to do it again.

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   Jarnposted 14 years ago

   It's not any worse than having to sit with a bar of soap in my mouth, or is that sort of thing considered child abuse these days too?

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    selene383posted 14 years ago

    Yeah...uh... that is child abuse. That so called "Parent" had no and i mean no right to do that. She forced him to keep it in his mouth, thats not right, that kind of stuff makes me sick. If i was a little boy i would hate her and never have anything to do with her. No it would not make a difference if it had been Habanero, etc...
    
    And no you were not abusive to the puppy because you did not force it to keep it in its mouth. You were using a good method. That is kinda like when you have a girl that is 9 years old and she wont quit biting her nails, so you put pepper on her fingers to keep her from biting her nails. Your not forcing because she is in control of what happens.

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    alwayzzcitraposted 14 years ago

    I personally wouldn't do that because I think it's too mean. I believe it's better to take away the priviledge such as computer or video games for a while rather than putting hot sauce in his mouth.
    
    And you can't compare parenting and pet caretaking. They're totally different things.
    
    I think shoving hot sauce into you kid's mouth is abusive. Please don't let violence happen in your home because it will only teach your kids that violence is okay and acceptable.

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    JayDee Sterlingposted 14 years ago

    Taking away TV, video games, cellphone is a good way to deal with discipline for a child. The woman in the picture might want to hope that Child Services (in any state) doesn't find out who she is, which is really easy to do.
    
    You see, when people do things like this and have the audacity to call it discipline, they are not raising a well-balanced human being, they are creating a serial criminal.

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    nightwork4posted 14 years ago

    the lady that did that needs her butt kicked. she is nothing short of sick.

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    esatchelposted 14 years ago

    My guess is you could (and should) find yourself explaining yourself to Child Protective Services if someone turned you in for it.
    
    It seems to me that this is a very stupid form of punishment, as well as mean. It leads to no good outcome.
    
    I think punishment for children should have some sort of instructive value beyond inflicting pain. The hope is that children will grow into adults who are thoughtful of their behaviors. A parent's punishment should be an opportunity for the child to learn and and understand consequences, how one's behavior affects others, to respect other people, their time, their property... A parent's job (one of them) is to lovingly instruct.
    
    The use of hot sauce, to me, implies that one has taken the time to devise a punishment that will hurt and continue to hurt for a while. What could possible be the teachable moment in inflicting mindless pain on another person, let alone a child. All they will learn to do is hurt other people who irritate them. Don't we have enough of that already?
    
    But if this a person's preferred method -- to inflict pain because you are ticked off -- then perhaps the hotter the pepper, the better the punishment? Heck, why not a cattle prod?

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    Dr. Wendyposted 14 years ago

    Yes it is abuse!  Discipline doesn't mean punishing, though I will agree that sometimes punishment is in order.  But with a 7 year-old, you don't want to punish, you want to teach how to behave properly.  Whatever form of discipline you use, it should be to teach your child why what he/she did was wrong, and to encourage that it doesn't happen again.  The puppy example is an excellent example of teaching/discipline.  It wasn't degrading and it didn't hurt.  It set up a boundary and made it clear there would be consequences.  I am not sure why you would ever put hot sauce into a child's mouth.  Lies or disrespect?  If that is what it is, I would sit down and explain why what was said wasn't right... and maybe have the child write a note of apology.

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    LeeWallsposted 14 years ago

    The woman has no right to be around children or work with them; of course that's child abuse. I pray she doesn't have children of her own and does this to them. I also hope she's investigated.

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    Katya Drakeposted 13 years ago

    Yes because it can burn the skin off the child's tongue. The tongue takes a long time to heal because we use it more than any other muscle. Doing what she did can cause not only tongue injury but it can cause weight loss and nutritional problems. Children need almost constant nutrients because they are growing so fast. Not eating for a day or two because of a burnt tongue can make a big difference in their health. This mom needs to be LOCKED UP!
    
    It also causes emotional scaring. How do you feel loved by a parent who does that to you?

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