Damaged the 7 year old girl.
Rigid shaming is a great way to create an alcoholic child, or a bully, drugs, suicidal, fearful, avoidant etc.
Just because a parent hits a child or traumatizes a small kid, does not mean you have not created internal problems that the kid must now solve, void of adults.
Where are the adults? Simple quick solutions tells a child he is not worth an adult’s time and effort. The child is lacking, base needs are not met. The parents are lacking.
Try reading some books. Attend support groups. Turn off the TV and start interacting like humans.
Frustrated parents, lacking knowlege how humans behave, strike out and usually hit children as a quick solution, but the real problems still reside. The child, not the adults, will solve the root problems decades later outside the family.
The dysfunctional family members will take a decade of psychotherapy or support groups to actually solve issues.
I have seen many of your family members getting real solutions, finally, outside the crazy family.
It takes all kinds of people to make a world. This thread has certainly pointed that out. Small town police stations are not like the drunk tank in inner cities. I think several of the people on this board are over reacting and taking the opportunity to climb on their personal soap boxes rather than looking at the OP’s story.
Actions have consequences. Some actions have consequences so severe that a parent must be very sure that the child understands the consequences. The OP has detailed a very traditional approach to a child stealing. The actions were taken out of love and concern and that love and concern is no doubt clear to the child.
A visit to the police station was not out of line especially since the child stole from a classmate. Had the behavior continued the child would have been at the police station soon on her own. This kind of lesson by exposing the child to the real world consequences of her actions is the most honest form of parenting. I can’t believe that Free Republic has so many folks ready to second guess a parent and tar the police with the the meme that a visit to the police station is traumatic.
Holey psychobabble!
No wonder the millennials are such tender snowflakes when there are folks that take what was posted seriously.
Wow, the denial and hyper-sensitivity is strong in this one.
Life is hard. It’s even harder if... you know the rest.
“Rigid shaming” is a powerful and useful TOOL. You do wrong, you SHOULD be shamed, HARDCORE! You will be less likely to do that or many other wrongs afterwards.
The key to the shaming is genuine forgiveness after the lesson is learned.
To NOT discipline the child does far more damage. Look at what years of lax discipline has done for our society.