Is this child abuse?

[Admiral Yi]

Can't find the link, but he mentioned in a local interview that on top of constantly sneaking out of the house she is a troubled teen and has gotten into trouble with drugs.  He said he did what he did to demonstrate to her what it is like where she is headed (prison) unless she were to clean up her act.

This puts things in a different context.  Originally I was thinking straight abuse.

Or as they would say on ESPN, a different slant on the matter.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It sounds to me that he is adopting desperate measures when it is far too late. Corporal and restraining punishments are really an admission of failure when parents resort to them, moral authority should be established at an early age, they can then be used to stop teens from screwing up.

[fhdz]

Or as they would say on ESPN, a different slant on the matter.

Aha, I've found the chink in your armor!

[derspiess]

Precisely.

Something like this might have been acceptable to a younger child - hell I restrain my toddler on a daily basis.  But on a 15 year old?  That just doesn't fly.

I'm not 100% sure I follow that.  You restrain your toddler, but certainly you don't use zip ties and bind his wrists and ankles.  I can't think of many situations where that would be appropriate for a child of any age.

[derspiess]

It sounds to me that he is adopting desperate measures when it is far too late. Corporal and restraining punishments are really an admission of failure when parents resort to them, moral authority should be established at an early age, they can then be used to stop teens from screwing up.

He'd respond that his ex-wife had previously had custody of the girl (and thus his ability to influence her had been very limited) and she came to live with him in part because she was already having behavioral problems. 

But all that aside, do you think he's guilty of abuse?  I'd have to think it would qualify as such in the UK.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It would almost certainly count as abuse in the UK.

I can understand his motivations, but our ability to change people who are 15 years old is very limited, so he has resorted to desperate measures that are not really appropriate.

[Admiral Yi]

Tricky, do youse guys have anything like "Scared Straight?"  That's a program that takes troubled kids on a visit to a prison, so they know what they're looking at if they don't shape up.

[Jacob]

Tricky, do youse guys have anything like "Scared Straight?"  That's a program that takes troubled kids on a visit to a prison, so they know what they're looking at if they don't shape up.

Didn't some kids die on one of these programs? I seem to recall something like that a few years back.

[Jacob]

As for the original question, I'd say it's abuse to tie up a kid as a form of punishment. Same for threatening her with an electric device.

I also rather think the father's actions sounds like it's coming straight out of a fetish porn film plot.

[Neil]

Seems a little over-the-top to me, although perhaps there were extenuating circumstances.  In cases like these, I tend to trust parents over children and Martinus.

[Malthus]

Precisely.

Something like this might have been acceptable to a younger child - hell I restrain my toddler on a daily basis.  But on a 15 year old?  That just doesn't fly.

If you are using zip ties and stun guns, that's one hell of a toddler. 

[Malthus]

Frustrated with his then-15-year-old daughter's behavior, Parrish used zip ties to bind the girl's hands and ankles. He then laid her down on her bed for more than an hour, holding a device capable of producing a shock as they spoke.

I'll be the first:  OMG HAWT.

Yeah, I went there.

I wish I could say I was surprised that this was the first comment. 

[crazy canuck]

Can't find the link, but he mentioned in a local interview that on top of constantly sneaking out of the house she is a troubled teen and has gotten into trouble with drugs.  He said he did what he did to demonstrate to her what it is like where she is headed (prison) unless she were to clean up her act.

I dont think they do what he did to his daughter even in the US prisons.  He may have been concerned about where she was headed but if I had a father like that, I would want to run away too.

[KRonn]

Seeing the reasons the father had I can certainly sympathise with him. The girl was not listening or getting what her father was trying to smarten her up over. And so Dad felt the daughter was heading for some serious and dangerous problems, so given the situation the dad faced I'm not too bent out of shape over his actions. However,  I assume it's considered child abuse though, legally speaking.

[crazy canuck]

Precisely.

Something like this might have been acceptable to a younger child - hell I restrain my toddler on a daily basis.  But on a 15 year old?  That just doesn't fly.

If you are using zip ties and stun guns, that's one hell of a toddler. 

It is the only way to make sure he becomes a Jets fan rather than the other more reasonable alternatives.