Punish ment for bullying questioned

A Newfoundland mom is being both praised and panned for what some say are extreme measures to punish her daughter for apparent bullying behaviour — and then discussing it all on social media.

Amanda Mitchell posted three pictures on Facebook of her nine-year-old daughter’s room after she stripped it of everything except the young girl’s bed and a single change of clothing for the week.

Mitchell said the near-empty room — along with the same outfit of an anti-bullying T-shirt — was punishment for acting up in school and being mean to a friend.

The mother of two also planned to make her daughter copy phrases — 50 times apiece — including “I will not lie,” “I will be kind to everyone” and “I am responsible for my own actions.”

“Welcome to Mommy’s Juvenile Detention little girl,” she said in the post.

“Harsh? Not in my opinion. If she grows up to break the law then the result is jail and that’s not what I want for my children. I think the problem with this generation is inadequate punishment. Punishment is bad, we should only use positive reinforcement and ignore all bad behaviour — NOT in this house.”

Mitchell said she was just trying to dole out what she thought was adequate punishment, adding that her daughter is usually very wellbehaved.

She told Global News the little girl was a bit shocked when she first saw her room, but was contrite after they talked about why the behaviour was happening.