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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that this is torture? (Warning - Extremely distressing video)

82 replies

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 13:06

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mummy-help-me-mother-told-7760043?ICID=FB_mirror_main

So this happened in Georgia, where corporal punishment is allowed.

Basically, if the mother didn't agree to the boy getting a 'spanking', they would have had to suspend him and since the child has already missed 18 days, the mother would have been jailed.

Ok, in fairness it sounds like he was being very bold, but good God, can this be allowed?

Warning, if you do watch the video, you will probably feel very distressed, so don't blame me if you do! Kinda half sorry I watched it myself

OP posts:

IoraRua · 16/04/2016 17:37

Well, my sentence construction is a bit off there, but I'm sure you understand what I meant!

Fluffy24 · 16/04/2016 17:41

That's horrific. What can we do about this, seriously? To whom do we complain??

Original poster

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 17:44

I was going to suggest the European Court of Human Rights, but the clue is in the title of that. Is there any human rights group covering America?

OP posts:

gingerboy1912 · 16/04/2016 17:45

The most upsetting thing to me is the boy crying out to his mother and she's not helping him. That would kill me if that was my child. Can't believe they spank children in this day n age. We still had the cane when I was at primary school but just the threat of getting it was enough to make most kids tow the line.

Original poster

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 17:45

IoraRua We can see what the school is offering him anyway!

OP posts:

80sMum · 16/04/2016 17:45

The United States is a very backward country in many respects and this incident illustrates that.

That kind of punishment would not have been at all unusual in most primary schools in England up until the 1970s, though I doubt that punishment would have been so severe for such a young child even then.

Original poster

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 17:47

My father was beaten at school with the result that he left school at 14. He is a very intelligent man. I often wonder what a full education would have done for him.

OP posts:

Original poster

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 17:49

80sMum. A slap on the bottom on the spur of the moment would have been less traumatic than what they did to this little fella. Police wouldn't get away with such behaviour to an adult prisoner over here.

OP posts:

MrHannahSnell · 16/04/2016 18:00

I agree with the poster who said that something similar would have happened in an English school before the 1970s and probably later in Scotland (where discipline was notoriously harder than in England) but no way is this "torture".

Fairylea · 16/04/2016 18:01

I think it's sad that the whole thing has been derailed (not here but elsewhere) into a discussion about how good / bad the mum is - regardless of any of that surely the issue is that corporal punishment is wrong? Whatever his mum is like the little boy shouldn't have been punished like that.

Andrewofgg · 16/04/2016 19:18

Sorry Fairylea but there are two issues here - the teachers who want to hit a five-year-old with a bat and his mother who is going to let them.

Original poster

FelicityR313 · 16/04/2016 19:19

Andrew - the mother hadn't much of a choice really.

OP posts:

AugustaFinkNottle · 16/04/2016 19:21

It's not quite accurate that English schools pre 1970 would have done this. I really don't think they would have with a 5 year old.

Andrewofgg · 16/04/2016 19:28

FelicityR313 I hear no objections, no protests from her.

OhForFrigSake · 16/04/2016 20:13

I couldn't have watched that either. If it'd been my boy they'd have been brandishing that bat at, one of them would have been having it removed from their colon under general anaesthetic. Pair of twats.

Fairylea · 16/04/2016 20:25

Andrew - the whole point is that the mother is arguing she didn't have a choice. She had to either agree to him being hit or he was going to be suspended. For whatever reasons (and this is debatable, I've read up about it and she's saying she had legitimate reasons he had missed school) he had already missed some days of school and if he missed anymore she would be arrested. The social welfare state in the us is not as supportive as ours. If a single mum finds herself in prison or out of work the state will not step in and help as they would do in the uk. It is not a comparable situation to the uk welfare system. The children could have found themselves uncared for or without provisions. So regardless of whatever people think about the mum in this situation she was placed in an impossible situation. It wasn't a "choice" for her as to whether her son was hit or not.

MTPurse · 16/04/2016 20:28

I knew what this was before I clicked on it. I have just watched this and I am fucking appalled. That child needs to be taken off his Mother, 5 years old and begging his Mum to help him. ffs, there are no words to describe how fucked up this is.

leelu66 · 16/04/2016 20:36

I can only imagine the pain the mother went through while he was screaming for her help and she couldn't.

Sounds like the mum laughed? And is she the one filming?

I don't agree with spanking, and what's worse, they've made a meal out of it. They prolongued it.

lotsoffunandgames · 16/04/2016 20:41

This is awful, made me feel sick.poor little thing. How could those teachers do that?

Squashysbrother · 16/04/2016 21:29

I don't agree with smacking anyway. What makes this even worse though.

I looked at the mothers Facebook page, the little boy has only just started school, she's a young mum, she has posted on her fb page how she had no school clothes or shoes for him. Her family and friends clubbed together to get clothes for him. He's in picture sticking his middle finger up posing next to his mother. It tells me he's getting a poor start at home as it is.

In England she would no doubt have social services involvement, she'd be put on a parenting course and the boy would be getting extra support in school for his behaviour. He probably isn't getting discipline and boundaries at home.

Let's face it, what reception boy doesn't have a few behaviour issues to iron out? Even those from the nicest homes. There were some right horrors in ds class but it was mostly nipped in the bud.

In the USA he gets whacked on the bum with a plank of wood, and he's supposed to learn from that?

It's so fucked up and uncivilised it's untrue.

That boy will have learnt nothing from that experience other than that he can't trust adults that are supposed to look after him.

enchantedfairytale · 16/04/2016 21:34

Unfortunately Squashy, I'm not sure things would be quite as rosy for him in England as you think.

I certainly don't condone the actions of the school here, however.

BarbarianMum · 16/04/2016 21:56

I don't agree with corporal punishment, especially in schools but comparing it to torture is pretty offensive to be honest. I image most victims of torture would be quite relieved if all that had happened to them was a few whacks on the arse with a paddle.

enchantedfairytale · 16/04/2016 22:11

It is one smack with the paddle, I believe.

AugustaFinkNottle · 16/04/2016 23:07

Barbarian, you're forgetting that this is a 4 year old child. I somehow doubt that he's going to view this as pragmatically as you do.

summerdreams · 16/04/2016 23:42

Oh my god obama should be ashamed of him self allowing this in his country this is a discrace that boy is so small the paddle looks massive this is abuse.

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