8 Examples Of Very Bad Parenting

These parents did something very, very wrong.

Today we can find reports about people accused of abuse and neglect of their children on some ridiculous grounds such as leaving their toddler to nap for three minutes in the car or letting a preschooler play "unsupervised" in their own fenced backyard. However, there are plenty of much more severe cases to justify the possibility of filing an anonymous report. Leaving out plain sadism and other mental disorders that can push people, including parents, to do despicable things, let us present instead some cases, where moms and dads only wished their kids well, but their parenting went very, very wrong, to say the least.

The following are the examples of some controversial child-rearing methods and unacceptable punishment decisions.

8. Extreme public shaming

When a 12-year-old has an “F” on her school report card, most parents are likely to be upset, concerned and seeking ways to improve the situation. A couple from Fridley, Minnesota have chosen a malicious way to punish their daughter for the lack of diligence.

The residents of the neighborhood called the police, when they saw a tween running down the streets, wearing nothing but an undershirt and… a diaper. In addition, her head was shaved. It turned out, her mother and stepfather forced her to be on a public display like this because they wanted to teach her a lesson. They joked and laughed at her humiliation and did not have even the faintest idea, what is wrong with the punishment when the police officer was taking them to the station. Now they have been sentenced to 1 year in jail because the judge has found their punishment solution to be an assault on the girl’s dignity.

7. Crippling overprotection

Helicopter parenting is a hallmark of our time, not only in the US but also in all around the world. However, when does over-coddling become abuse? The probable answer is – when it prevents normal development.

The 12-year-old Luca from Ferrara, Italy had a motor development of a 3-year-old and didn't even know how to run. His regretful condition was caused by… too much love and protection his mother and grandparents surrounded him with.

He has been confined to his home, which he was allowed to leave exclusively for school. There was no other exception – playing outside with friends, doing sports or even visiting the church was also out of the question. Apparently, his family did so much for him, that it arrested his physiological development. His teacher says that even Luca's school lunches they always precut into bite-size pieces.

Mother and grandparents of the boy face charges of abuse, although it is difficult to classify what they have done wrong because usually caretakers are accused of neglect than of over-involvement.

6. False abandonment

Let us by honest, the technique of false abandonment can be very efficient. How many parents were tempted to pretend (and did so) that they are going to leave their little brat behind as the last remedy for a raging tantrum or wicked misbehavior? However, prudent parents should ensure that their seemingly abandoned child always stays in their view and monitored; all parents know what parental control is these days.

This particular lesson a couple from Japan learned a very hard way, when their 7-year-old son, Yamato Tanooka went missing in the wild, bear-infested woods of Hokkaido Island, where they went on family vacation. Yamato’s parents locked him out of the car and drove for 500 meters to teach him a lesson – during the hike by the river he had been throwing rocks at people and cars and wouldn’t listen to any reprimands. In five minutes, they came back and found no trace of the boy. After a two-hour search, they contacted the police. Seven days later Yamato emerged alive and well a few kilometers away from the spot, where they had left him. The boy found his shelter in one of the empty barracks of the nearby military base, where the roof over his head, matrasses, and tap water were at his disposal - despite the absence of any food, he had a lucky escape.

Yamato’s parents, however, apart from being through every parent’s nightmare for a whole week, faced disapproval of the whole community and might have been charged with abandonment. That is the cost of one bad parental decision, but they too had a lucky escape.

5. Locking out in extreme weather conditions

If a couple from Phoenix knew the consequences of a punishment they chose for their 6-year-old son, they probably would think twice.

His father, Mark Simmons, had locked the boy out and made him stand barefoot on the hot concrete. The dreadful thing about this is that the outside temperature had reached 110 °F at the time and the concrete was blazing. 10-minute-long punishment caused severe burns to the bottom of boy's feet. However, it did not spare him from further cruelty. They cut the flaps from the blisters on his feet, beat him and threatened to make him stand outside once again if he would not stop crying. They also did not turn for medical treatment. Instead, Sarah Simmons, the stepmother, applied spray medication to lessen the pain. It was not until boys feet began to show the signs of inflammation that they decided to seek medical help.

Both Mark and Sarah Simmons were eventually arrested and faced charges of abuse.

4. Malnutrition

A strict veganism as a diet for infants is a topic controversial enough. However, without taking sides, veganism requires a lot of extra work, and when parents lead their child to the brink of starvation by not providing sufficient dietary supplements, especially with respect to his heart condition, it makes us question their ability (and right) to care for a living human being.

A 14-month-old boy from Milan weighed only about 11 pounds when his grandparents took him to the hospital. The child was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and had calcium levels barely enough to survive. The personnel immediately reported the case. Now the parents of the boy, who is currently receiving medical treatment, have lost custodial rights and probably are going to face charges. There is little doubt, that they only wanted the best, however, they were too ignorant or too lazy to consult a dietitian, so their ill-informed efforts nearly caused a tragedy.

3. Scalding

Unfortunately, this is not a typo and it does not read "scolding". Felicia Krystal Burton from Medford, Oregon, have chosen an appalling technique of potty training for her 3-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized with badly burned hands and forearms.

When Felicia discovered that the girl had soiled her pants, she became angry, grabbed the toddler by the hands and dragged her to the kitchen, where opened the tap with hot water at full blast. Not only did she hold her child's arms under the current of scalding water causing burns, but also waited a day before bringing the injured girl to the hospital. This cruelty undoubtedly gravely scarred the child, both physically and emotionally. A foster mother to another child, who was also taken from Felicia, says that her adopted son used to be punished in this atrocious way as well. Now he only takes cold showers and cold food, refusing to have it warmed up.

Both Felicia and her partner face a felony charge of abuse.

2. Encagement

Most of us tried locking children in as a consequence of their mischief in order to give them time to ponder over their behavior in the comfort of their bedrooms (or closets). Meanwhile, some people can take it too far.

Sylvia Jovanna Vasquez was a social worker and daycare provider when she adopted two sisters. Cynthia, the eldest, says that at first, everything went fine. She remembers dance lessons, “awesome” Christmases and journeys to Disneyland. Then everything changed. Allegedly following the advice of parental books, and aiming to help the girls with their attachment disorders, Vasquez decided to keep them in animal cages in the basement. Cynthia says that she perceived her ordeal as “some stage every child is going through”, and anticipated this nightmare would soon be over. By threats, Vasquez forced both girls to act happy in front of social workers during their visits and kept two sisters encaged, frightened and malnourished for 5 years until her cleaner informed the authorities.

Despite being sentenced to 10 years, Vasquez spent less than 1 year in jail, the rest of the time was served on probation. Cynthia, now 19, works at the same center that helped her 10 years ago when she was abused and neglected little girl.

1. Starvation

Many people deny their children the luxury of dessert for misbehaving. However, hardly anyone would systematically deny them lunch for doing their homework less than perfect.

A preacher and his wife from Smethport, Pennsylvania, thought that food deprivation is a suitable disciplinary measure for their three adopted kids and that something more than a bowl of oatmeal a day could only spoil them. Their nine-year-old ran away from home and told the police that she and her elder sister and brother (ten and eleven) were denied food on a regular basis for every little delinquency. They had to ask neighbors to give them something to eat – all three kids were extremely underweight and suffered growth retardation. Their stepparents, Mark and Susan Hooper, were convicted for endangering their three adopted children and sentenced to jail.

This may come as a shock, but most of the people from the above stories did not think that they did something wrong, until other people or authorities have interfered. Maybe, however, they were afraid or ashamed to admit their wrongdoings even to themselves. Anyway, that is a lesson to all of us – when we see a child maltreated, we must not just pass by impassively.