‘Mother makes young son wear humiliating sign
The unnamed woman made her son stand in a park in Townsville, Australia, with the sign around his neck while his family ate lunch nearby. He was also made to wear Shrek ears. Parents who saw the boy, aged about 10, wearing the sign were appalled…’
This mother needs to learn what makes young boys tick, before doing something which may have given her personal satisfaction but is likely to have the opposite effect to what she intended. (and there’s no mention of the father in this story).
Humiliating him–making him a laughing-stock with his friends and acquaintances-will almost certainly produce feelings of resentment and a sense of injustice which are going to last a very, very long time. A swift belt around the ear for the act of theft sends a message that the act itself is unacceptable while leaving his sense of self-worth (and the possibility of redeeming himself) intact. Another case where the lack of male discipline is going to have disastrous consequences.
