Father of the Year

I don't agree with public humiliation.  At age 16, teenagers will make all kinds of mistakes and there are many other consequences for their actions.  Public humiliation is degrading to an individual and I don't think the punishment fits the crime. It often goes way beyond the crime committed.  Community service and working to pay for damages seems to me to be just punishment.  Why do so many humans want to degrade, punish, and destroy the spirit of others today?  Public humiliation destroys the spirit and I think it can have future consequences that can be negative for the person and particularly when it comes time to raising their own children.  It breeds a severity that is not kind nor humane.  I don't think this man deserves to be father of the year at all.  I think perhaps we should research his own past and see what drove him to extremes and what skeletons he has in his closet.  Forgiveness and a more humane treatment is in order.  I think he needs to walk the beat with a sign saying :"I punished my son by humiliating him and destroying his spirit."

I think what Baltimore Senior did was nothing short of brilliant!

Child abuse.  Brilliantly EVIL.

Sorry John - This doesn't answer your question but I want to comment on why I agree the father should be applauded and address some other "answers" that were left.

All teens might not benefit from this type of punishment.  Some already have low self esteem and this would just reinforce it.  But, there are many teens that would benefit.  And, short of doing physical harm, sometimes teens are hard to punish.  Take their IPod/phone/car/ etc. away and they just borrow someone else’s.  Ground them at home on the weekends, but they just use the time at school for their socializing instead of school work.  They become martyrs to themselves and feel justified in acting out.

The young man had vandalized before, by his own admission.  Knowing where his son was headed, the father made a good decision.  What ever punishments he faced before obviously did not work.  Being made to clean or work without others (meaning peer groups) knowing does nothing but make a rebellious teen angry and resentful.  Teens live with the need for peer approval.  By making his son show what he had done to "the world" he is giving his son a reason to stop and think before he does it again.  "Wait! I hated being embarrassed like that; do I really want to go through that again?  Naw man! It's just not worth it." 

So, it was not a case of cruel punishment and it did fit the crime.  As the father stated, what he did is a felony in California. Read the Daily Breeze article and you will get all the answer you need... From the son himself.  He said it made a difference. Every parent must know their child and discipline them according to what is needed for them specifically.  I have to say that I feel the father punished his son as he knew best... what was right for his son.  

I dont know about father of the year, but I have to agree with his decision he could have done a lot worse. Now days you cannot spank your kids, or technically touch them in any way. The father knows his child best and therefore did what he thought would best suit his child's actions. It may not be the answer for all children, but it hopefully worked for this one. I think parents need to come up with "different" ways of punishing there children. Obviously some of the "old fashion" ways are not working. Maybe we should all look at alternative ways to punish our children for delinquent behavior. I agree with what he did and do not think it humiliated the child. I think he learned a very valuable lesson. He commited a crime punishable by many laws and fines amongst  other judicial manners and in lew of that his father gave him this was lesson one. Lesson two his action was more than looking cool it cost taxpayers money that they at this time in the economy would not appreciate forking out for one child trying to be cool. He hopefully learned that although it his actions seemed minor to him, it had sooo many other consequences and other people would have to pay for his actions as well as his father paying the fine, the taxpayers who pay taxes to maintain these facilities, and the lucky person at the school working for low wages adding this to his "to do" list for the day.

I dont know about father of the year, but I have to agree with his decision he could have done a lot worse. Now days you cannot spank your kids, or technically touch them in any way. At a time this would have called for a "good ole fashion a** whooping".The father knows his child best and therefore did what he thought would best suit his child's actions. Maybe the father himself was taught a valuable lesson at one time in somewhat the same fashion. It may not be the answer for all children, but it hopefully worked for this one. I think parents need to come up with "different" ways of punishing there children. Obviously some of the "old fashion" ways are not working. Maybe we should all look at alternative ways to punish our children for delinquent behavior. I agree with what he did and do not think it harmed the childs spirit. I think he learned a very valuable lesson. He commited a crime punishable by many laws and fines amongst  other judicial manners and in lew of that his father gave him this punishment call this lesson one. Children think there untouchable and the law does not bother them it almost "cool" to be in trouble with the law or be a "bad boy" Lesson two his action was more than looking cool it cost taxpayers money that they at this time in the economy would not appreciate forking out for one child trying to be cool. He hopefully learned that although it his actions seemed minor to him, it had sooo many other consequences and other people would have to pay for his actions as well as his father paying the fine, the taxpayers who pay taxes to maintain these facilities, and the lucky person at the school working for low wages adding this to his "to do" list for the day.

Good for dad...Maybe if more parents get involved and aren't afraid to "punish" their kids we won't have so many young adults (teens) getting into major trouble.