Then the little twerp tattled on her.
Betrayal.
He needs another whipping.
She needs a commendation for trying to stay on top of them.
Would that our “penal system” would whip burglars like that. Maybe there would be less.
My mother heard about it, and the next time they were together, she grabbed his arm, pulled him close until their faces were only inches away, and hissed at him "If you have say anything like that to your parents again, I am going to show you what REAL child abuse is."
When we were kids, my dad terrified us when he disciplined us, but it was all psychological...he would growl at us in a low voice and snap his folded belt as he walked up the stairs, but he really wouldn't physically hurt a fly. And the most profane thing he would say was to call us a "dumb bunny". We laugh today when we remember it. When he talked, we listened. If he said to us "Do you understand?" and we insolently replied "Yes", he would advance at us menacingly, speaking in a very low, growling voice, and say "Yes...WHAT?" to which we would respond "Yes SIR." Being a naval officer, I think that was somewhat ingrained with him. My father was no martinet, by any means, but he WAS very specific about manners and politeness growing up, and insisted that we call any adult male "Sir" and any adult female "Ma'am", and if we didn't, he didn't let it slide and would call us on the carpet immediately.
My mom, on the other hand, was a crazy mix of Armenian and Italian, and when she got angry and nearly hysterical, she wasn't messing around with that belt. She gave us welts, and it hurt.
How I miss them both. Six kids, dad away at sea...how she maintained her sanity, I will never know. They were two parents trying hard to stay together (they did) and raise a family.
I just can't find it in myself to condemn this woman. A lot of people in her situation/community have just given up and let their kids go feral. As others have said, it just might end up saving them.
But the fact they ratted her out indicates her effort might be in vain.