When growing up, one of the worst things that can happen to a child is being bullied.
So if parents find out their own offspring is the perpetrator to this ruthless act, they have to take action to prevent their kids from doing it again.
While some parents take the usual route of grounding and writing a letter of apology, one mother turned her child's punishment up a notch.
Amanda Mitchell from Newfoundland, Canada sent her nine-year-old daughter, Hannah, to "Mommy's Juvenile Detention Centre" for bullying her best friend and general bad behavior.
Mitchell wrote a Facebook post - which has since gone viral - where she shared her extreme punishment.
Not only had Mitchell stripped Hannah's room of all of her belongings, but she only left her daughter with one outfit that she had to wear on a daily basis. The t-shirt included an anti-bullying slogan, which washed with the rest of her clothes overnight.
Mitchell also made her daughter write several sentences (50 times apiece) such as "I will not lie," "I will be kind to everyone" and "I am responsible for my own actions."
The post, which has since been set to private, read: "Welcome to Mommy's Juvenile Detention little girl."
"Harsh? Not in my opinion. If she grows up to break the law then the result is jail and that's not what I want for my children," she continued. "I think the problem with this generation is inadequate punishment. Punishment is bad we should only use positive reinforcement and ignore all bad behaviour "“ NOT in this house."
Mitchell explained Hannah is typically well-behaved and her actions were out of character, but once she knew there weren't any mitigating factors for her daughter's conduct, she dished out the drastic punishment.
"I got a call from her teacher on Friday, explaining how Hannah has been acting up all week in class," Mitchell further wrote.
"She was picking on one of her best friends and really hurt the little one's feelings. Lying to other teachers about her own (AMAZING) teacher," she continued. "And generally just acting like an a*****e. Yes, I just said a*****e. Why? Because she's acting like one. I know she's not an a*****e, but if the shoe fits, right?"
Thankfully the punishment is working, as Mitchell claims Hannah has become remorseful over her actions.
"She's been very apologetic, very remorseful. She wrote a letter to her friend she was mean to. She wrote a letter to her teacher," Mitchell told Global News.
Facebook users were quick to share their reactions, which varied in opinion.
"Excellent," one person commented. "This is how to teach children there are consequences to their action. This is how they learn."
"Wow! Awesome parenting!" read another.
"Good for you, you are a strong mom," a third chimed in.
"Wow. I really feel that this is extreme and [borderline] abuse. How old is your child? I feel that taking away toys, electronics etc.," an opponent to the punishment wrote. "But making your child wear the same outfit to school for a week and stripping her entire room...overboard."
Mitchell said after reading a handful of negative comments, she decided to lighten her daughter's punishment. She'll be allowed to wear four rotating ant-bullying shirts and will only have to write 25 lines instead of her original 50.
Although Hannah's earned her bedside table and lamp back, Mitchell said she plans on giving her daughter the rest of her belongings by Friday.
"I know that I'm not doing harm to her. I'm doing everything I can to help her. I told her I'm doing this because I love her and want her to grow up to be a well-rounded individual," Mitchell said.
If you already formed an opinion about Mitchell's parenting lesson, see if you agree with these controversial punishments:
- "Entitled" Son Thought He Was Above Shopping At Goodwill, Mom Taught Him A Lesson That's Going Viral
- Viral Photo Of Kids In "Time-Out" Draws Backlash - Here's What Their Mother Has To Say
- Mother Punishes Her Children For Being Rude To Their Bus Driver In A Bizarre Way
[H/T: Global News, Huffington Post]
