Mother Forces Daughter To Carry 'Will Work For Food' Sign

[The Straight Story]

Mother Forces Daughter To Carry 'Will Work For Food' Sign

POSTED: 2:17 pm EST November 16, 2005
UPDATED: 2:21 pm EST November 16, 2005

EDMOND, Okla. -- Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.

She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."

"This may not work. I'm not a professional," said Henderson, a 34-year-old mother of three. "But I felt I owed it to my child to at least try."

In fact, Henderson has seen a turnaround in her daughter's behavior in the past week and a half. But the punishment prompted letters and calls to talk radio from people either praising the woman or blasting her for publicly humiliating her daughter.

http://www.local6.com/news/5340172/detail.html

Now let's make * twins carry a sign that says "Will kill for oil"

[MercutioATC]

1. I have mixed feelings about this...

I'm not a big fan of public humiliation, but it's nice to see a parent taking responsibility for teaching their child.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. Her mother couldn't think of a better way other than to humiliate

her daughter in public? What is that teaching her daughter? It may or may not work. I could almost guarantee it will alienate her from her daughter.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. I don't think it's to humilate her

I think it's to teach her a lesson of where she could be in the real world if she doesn't take her schooling seriously.

[seabeyond]

24. think the girl may be doing some thinking

standing out there. i wouldnt do it. i wouldnt critize any parent doing htis either. as long as there is love, and sounds to me like the mama knwo how to discipline with love

but can you imagine standing uot on the corner with the sign. i would be taking my mom and my grades more seriously

[Arkana]

2. Well, all I have to say is that it's certainly inventive parenting.

I applaud the mother for caring as much as she does, but is this really the way to get a point across?

[seabeyond]

25. at a guess, dont you think the parent spent plenty of time

communicating with the daughter the value in grades, adn daughter taking pride in her work and accomplishment and what success would give her in life opposed to failure. and then probably there were times of yelling and threats. and then probably gorunding and phones taken away

i am sure this was not the first course of action

do you think?

[Arkana]

29. Like I said--inventive parenting.

And you're right, it probably wasn't the first course of action.

[JohnnyCougar]

4. Calling that public humiliation is hyperbole.

I think what she's doing is a great idea!

[TahitiNut]

5. "public humiliation"???

In a country (and a state!) that has a fucktard and a cabal of sociopaths in the White House? There aren't many places where I'd be concerned about the opinions of the "public" less than Edmond, Oklahoma. :eyes:

[Mike Niendorff]

6. This is a good trend.

I propose a similar "shaming" for every single person who has supported Bush, his Middle East war plans, and/or his designs for bankrupting and looting the nation.

Call them out, name names, put them on display. Let the world see them for who and what they are.


MDN

[seabeyond]

26. i voted for bush and i hang my head down in shame

wearing a billboard around town. works for me, lo lol

[MuseRider]

7. I don't like this.

My parents used to tie us to the tree in the front yard with a sign that said we were bad kids. It didn't work, it just really pissed us off.

It seems it would be easier to just make her get a job doing babysitting or whatever kids do these days, yard work or something and see how she managed without the humiliation.

[renate]

14. I think that's horrible

I'm so sorry you went through that.

:hug:

There is a HUGE difference, in my opinion, between saying a kid is bad and saying their behavior is bad. I think it's as big as the difference between emotional abuse and responsible discipline.

[MuseRider]

15. It's OK

but thanks. I grew up to be OK, can't say my brothers did as well but I have gotten through to middle age and am actually quite happy with myself, lol. BUT, don't ever come at me with a rope!

Parents do odd things sometimes.

[FreedomAngel82]

21. What your parents did was different

They were being just mean. This mother is trying to show her daughter what her future could possibly be like if she doesn't get good grades and go on to college and things like that and take her future seriously. I don't think it's too bad. Sometimes what the girl is doing is reality for some people.

[MuseRider]

23. You are right about a lot of people

having to do that and I had not thought about that aspect of it. Still, having raised two decent, hard working boys I can't imagine doing that. For me, and for them, it was better to let them sweat out the consequences of their actions and learn that way. I suppose it is hard to know what is right when they are not your kids. Still, I just don't care for public humiliation but then now a days it is not quite the same as it would have been 10 years ago when there was less of it being seen out there. :shrug:

[seabeyond]

27. yours sounds abusive. bad kids. really. tied to a tree.

that i would say is over the line. how old? wow.

dont you think the mom probably resorted to all that, chores punishment ect..... first. just an assumption but would seem a big step to doing nothing to putting htis teenager on the street with a sign

[SoCalDem]

28. and to think that WE wouldn't ALLOW our boys to get jobs

:)..about the meanest things I ever did to them

1. when the two youngest would start thrashing each other, I would make them kiss and say they were sorry. That was enough to have them try to keep me from seeing them fight..

2. and once when they refused to get dressed for school. I locked them on the front porch in their underwear...for about 3 minutes:)

They must have forgiven us.. they don't hate us :)

[carolinalady]

8. Sadly. I have seen those signs on real people. Teens are the

hardest age group in my experience. No matter how many visuals you provide, it does not always get through. In fact it hardly ever gets through because they are in their invincible stage, when nothing bad will happen to them because they know more than the object of the lesson. It may be shocking, it may be humiliating, but I would rather see her do something drastic, than give up. If she loves her child enough to embarrass her and don't forget herself (people talk) I am going to assume they have a strong connection. I do not think this will result in irreparable harm to the child. Sending a kid to the military, however, is a different story in my opinion.

[renate]

9. it's so tempting to judge other parents

but I am gradually learning not to (unless, of course, there's actual abuse of any kind, physical or emotional).

The mom was right there with her daughter--she had the guts to stand by what she must have known would be a controversial action. And she has a good point--kids think they're going to grow up and have the world handed to them on a plate with watercress around it because they see "regular" kids on TV living in gorgeous houses and wearing gorgeous clothes. Also it's the age... it's really hard to get teenagers to think about the future when they can hardly plan ahead for the next morning. It's the way their brains are wired--they just aren't equipped to understand that actions have consequences until late adolescence. So adults have to make things clear for them, and sometimes that's a struggle.

And the trick with praising a kid for being good, Dr. Wertlieb (the child psychologist quoted at the end of the article), is that he or she has to actually do something good in front of you. Every kid goes through a stage, long or short, when that simply doesn't happen.

[William Bloode]

10. Not such a bad idea.

Not only is it inventive punishment, but it may show the young lady a bit about what homeless folk have to deal with. Or some of the possible ramifications of bad choices.

Yes it may be shameful, but thousands do it daily out of need, and it does not kill them.

[DavidBowman]

11. Yeah

This is hilarious.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Sorry, but tieing signs to people and making them parade is disturbing

It's reminiscent of Nazi Germany or Imperialist Japan. Public humiliation is not a family value, no matter which way you cut it.

[Lengsel]

19. well

Something needed to be done. I get tired of these loudmouth kids who don't listen to shit then when they get out in the real world they soon learmn that everything we've been telling them was true. Then they blame others for their shortcomings. Some need a good slap in the face. Slackness is killing this country.

[Cleita]

13. I think this was a desperate move by an overwrought parent,

however, I don't think it will solve whatever problems are there in the long run. Too bad our society doesn't have a better infrastructure of social programs to address these situations when the parents need help with their children.

[seabeyond]

16. i think it was a gutsy move by a mother that wanted more for her

daughter and was willing to stand firm. and the mother was right. with the daughter cavalier attitude towards school, her daughter is setting herself up for failure. very creative, very gutsy of the mom .... i say yea.

i like

hm

and with all the parents out there that arent paying attention to their children there isnt a chance in hell i would go after this mom. not even. and how dare, anyone that does, lol. good for her

[alphafemale]

17. Slacker kids annoy the hell outta me.

Kid has done everything in her power to humiliate her parents.

Time to return the gift.

Youth and Beauty has nothing on Age and Treachery.

heh

[rwheeler31]

18. This is disgusting,

The creepy hate women is every place.

[sandnsea]

22. I just made mine clean the toilet

That always seemed to be quite enough to make them realize they were throwing away better options. The sad thing is, it sounds like she's acting like every other 14 year old girl I've ever known.