A new trend within the parenting community has surfaced. Parents have now begun posting videos of the creative ways they’ve decided to discipline their children. From shaving their heads to making their children walk in harsh weather conditions, these parents have gone the extra mile to make sure their children learn a valuable lesson. Some find this unconventional way of disciplining comedic and effective, yet others believe this a form of abuse. Is it?

According to ChildHelp.org,  child abuse is “when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failure to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.” Of course, anytime a parent deliberately inflicts intense pain on their child, its wrong and should be reprimanded. However, if the form of discipline doesn’t involve the child being hurt, is it an act of abuse or should it be classified as a discipline?

As a child, both my mother and father raised me to see the importance in respect. ” You always give the janitor with the same respect you give the CEO” my mom would always say. In teaching me the importance of respect, she also made sure I knew that for every bad decision comes a consequence. She never had to go to the extreme of shaving my head or making me walk to school, but I learned not to make as many bad decisions, in fear of the consequence that followed. When I look at some of the young kids growing up in this technologically advanced generation, I can’t help but think that this vital principle is missing. Kids are so caught up in social media, and trying to look good for the camera that they miss out on learning these fundamental principals. So, do I believe that public humiliation is a form of abuse? For this generation, ABSOLUTELY NOT, I think it’s one of the only effective ways to discipline our twitter junkie kids