Maybe the kids deserved a harsh punishment. We don't know the circumstances. When I was a child that was a normal form of discipline & we turned out mainly just fine. We need to be a little tougher with our kids they need to learn respect towards others. I don't know what the answer is but the kids now do not respect each other or adults!

What mother drives their kid to a park and continues punishment? Crazy bitch.

Are you kidding me Bridgett? There is a reason this is considered child abuse. You have to show kids respect in order to receive it. Abusing children is the farthest thing from respect. I hope this mother learns her lesson!!

Wow - if I had a nickel for every time my dad removed his belt and tanned my butt, or the times I got smacked in the face. I called my siblings to see if they recall the number of wooden spoons mom went through beating us, neither could remember. I'm not damaged as an adult, the "beatings" taught respect, something far too many kids these days lack. Society sends a message that hitting a child as punishment is abuse. Schools teach that if the child feels threatened the child should call police. As parents our rights to parent are gone but lets fine parents for truant children etc. It's all messed up.

Are you people kidding me. That is wrong with these kids now. We got our butts whoop if we ever disrespect any adults. We do not know what happen and yes the mother may have gone a bit too far. But maybe the boy did something that he wasn't supposed to do. We do not know the whole story.

I received the belt and the spoon and a razor strop and I turned out fine... I agree with both sides ... there is a time and place for the "rod" to be applied,,, but this Mom went to far with the girl

33 years ago the Vice Principle at Grafton High beat me until I bled by tossing me into the weight machine and concrete wall repeatedly, he supervised children until he died - I lived, so did the other hundreds+ I am confident he physically abused to aide in getting them in line..... I, to this day, would spit on his grave, but didnt act up any more in school either!

I got sick to my stomach reading this article.

Rik and Macey - do you watch the news or pick up a paper? Kids left and right are turning out horrible due to "hands off" parenting. Robbing, stealing, shooting up their classmates - it's like the wild west nowadays! Getting your kids enrolled in facilities to be raises by teachers and day care workers who cannot by law raise a hand as dicipline is NOT parenting.

I actually worked at a local day care in Port Washington and was baffled when a mom picked up her 2 year old after the child had been in our care from breakfast until we closed and asked him to choose where they would have dinner: McDonalds or Taco Bell! She was a well put together professional, too! Treating your 2 year old like an 18 year old will cause nothing but grief to the parents and everyone who has to deal with them.

(Cont)

I'm not a parent, I'll admit, but due to money and circumstance I had to keep an eye on my younger siblings for an hour here and there while growing up. I was told that I could use dicipline if necessary. You know what? I never had to because my brother, sister, and myself were taught respect and learned early on that our actions and words WOULD have consequences. I've gotten spankings, the belt, and the wooden spoon but only a few times for different situations because I LEARNED MY LESSON the first time.

Now (and I'm not bragging, I'm using this as a back up to my argument) I'm living in Florida and am co-owner of a fairly successful online business. I have never used drugs or been arrested. I never skipped school and kept my nose clean even in those angst filled teenage years because I knew my actions would have consequences. I have a great relationship with my parents and I never called the cops on them! Go figure!

(Cont)

If you're too soft and try to be your child's friend instead of a parent to them you're asking for nothing but trouble. Kudos to this mother for having a set and doing some real parenting. I'm hoping all this legal stuff goes away for her because these charges are so laughable.

Wow, I have just read the article in which a case of family dsyfunction, involving physical, verbal and emotional abuse has gone to court. Said perpetrator is facing 30 years in prison and a hundred grand in fines.
My mouth stands ajar in reading the replys which are debating the use of force, not use of force...kids should, parents should. I, as a sexual abuse survivor, I as a survivor of childhood emotional and physical abuse long before it was labeled as such...wonder what is wrong with a community which is debating as to if the use of any force, and verbal and emotional abuse /neglect is "warranted."
Does anyone have the guts to shed a tear? Does anyone have the guts to ask, why more punishment for a family all ready obviously in pain? When , oh when, do we start to serve up social justice/compassion and sentence actual healing tools and environments rather than more dysfunction?

Bravo, its about time someone wasnt afraid to disapline her children and not with words or a time out, which kids that age, or starting at 7 yrs will laugh at you they know you cant do anything , to them if i were on a jury i would side with her if after hearing the facts, ill bet 99% they needed it,as for taking the other child to the park, i think thats a little untrue so as to get mom in more trouble ( a LIE ) for those of you that believe everything that comes out of your childs mouth, I'm not saying beat your kids for harm but a good wack on there butts does wonders, i know i got a ton of them when i was a kid and i deserved everyone, Take disapline out of the parents hands to much and you have a kid with a guns shooting other people because as a youngester he or she got away with everything, and is not afraid of anyone or anything, it's very hard for good parents and grand parents for that matter to raised kids these days, i see in some of these replys that some people live in a fanisty world, dont touch your kid, dont yell at them, ( YA RIGHT ) GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, your the type that kick your kids out as soon as you can, and when they get in troble you say OH he or she were good children NOW WHOS LIEING, to end , im not saying beat your childern for every thing under the sun, but a good wack on the behind so they can really feel it WHEN they deserve it will make them think about what they did wrong and more then likely NOT do it again,most kids are out of control

Rik,

The circumstances in when is an appropriate time and place to use dicipline is up to the PARENTS. they brought the kid into this world.

I'm not condoning a beating until the kid can't walk - there is a difference between beating and dicipline. Good parents have rules for their children to teach them lessons to help them survive in this world and help shape them into productive members of society instead of thugs on the street. If rules are broken then a parent should be allowed to DICIPLINE as they see fit.

Abuse of any kind is wrong and should be punishable by law. What this woman did is no worse than what I received while growing up - good, hard DICIPLINE that made me learn a lesson that I wouldn't forget. Should I try to get my parents arrested now, 25 years after the fact? Hell no. I just think some folks, like yourself, are too sensitive and too quick to point and shout "ABUSE" to see how a swat on the butt or a slap can be a good tool in child rearing.

George, I agree with you. We have lost our right to discipline & look at our kids today! I don't say beat them but a belt on the butt... no problem. The only I question is why if true did this mom take the daughter to a different location? That does not sound right to me either but no one knows the whole story & possibly even the cops if only listening to the childrens side! The cops have their hands tied because of the law but I'm willing to beat alot of them have had their butts whipped & probably did the same to their kids. I'm not saying to "spank" them for every little thing but if it's something severe have at it!

Obviously the whole story hasn't come out, but I would assume that it's frustrating as hell to be a parent nowadays. I see bratty kids in public place that get away with bloody murder because parents feel afraid to yell at their kids or take them outside the store to give them a spanking because some nosey person butts in where they don't belong. Community action and intervention should be done if it's consistent beatings, emotional abuse, withholding food, etc. If this situation is found to be a single incident, or something that occurs once in awhile the the community needs to keep their noses out of it and let this woman raise her children.

Chris, you are so right!

My mom paddled me with a wooden spoon, tennis shoe, my dad used a belt. I was a very outspoken child that challenged my parents. I never once considered myself abused or victimized. Society has changed some for the good some for the worse concerning parent - child conflict resolve. Well we hear the criminal complaint with some bias as the coverage doesn't fairly detail the mothers account. She may have been oft provoked, may be up against a separated or divorced other parent giving harmful liberties that she is forced yo counter. Who knows? Felony charges seem unrealistic but maybe she is finally caught in flagrant hostilities. It remains bias without hearing her side of story. Maybe as melodramtic as her belt episode may appear the children love her and forgive some rash inappropriate measures, the court may not care what their reference
is. Seems more a realm for social services than a felony charge. Can't judge the matter without the mother's account. I disagree with using a belt although it didn't affect me much being punished with one. Punishment was meted out because I needed it not because my parents were irrational or emotionally unsound. I'm curious as yo the mothers account. Printing this article without her reference is a bias. Kind of sad.

Why do you all consider the second part of this story to be completely unimportant? Most of you commenting keep saying that you went through something similar as a child. I'm guessing that you mean that you went through some type of physical discipline. I did too. Most of us did. But it's the second part of this that makes this something different.

If the facts of this work out that this woman only used a belt against her son as some sort of physical punishment, then we're in a grey area, sure. Some will say it's fine, some will say it isn't. Then the comments make sense.

But the allegations (again, if they prove to be true) have this woman TAKING A SECOND CHILD OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR INTERVENING, REMOVING HER TO ANOTHER LOCATION, AND THEN BEATING HER WITH THE BELT FOR HER INTERVENTION.

In case you missed it, that is the story here. That is where I can't fathom how anyone can defend her. And that is something that many commenting here seem to be completely overlooking. Is that normal? Was that a part of your household? That your parent would remove you from the house by your hair for saying that the parent went too far, the parent calling you expletives, and then (once outside of the moment) still beating you with a belt for intervening in the other child's discipline?

I am shocked and appalled that any grown person would stand by any physical punishment of a child as being acceptable. Just because you "turned out fine" doesn't mean that it was a successful tool for discipline. My guess is the majority of you who were physically punished as children do not remember the actual offense that you were punished for, so did you learn your lesson? In fact, hitting a child only teaches them that it's okay for bigger, stronger people to hurt smaller people; anger only breeds more anger.

No matter how trying children can be (and, believe me, I know how trying they can be), it is the job of a responsible parent/caregiver to be the voice of reason. Of course you're going to lose your temper sometimes - then you give yourself a time-out until you can think calmly and rationally, just as you would when another adult makes you angry. We want to raise responsible people, and responsibility only comes when you are given respect and rights.

Anyone think about if this woman goes to jail and receives that huge ass fine what THAT would do to her children? The affects of that (being teased for having a mom in the slammer) and monies going towards her fine instead of a college fund would be worse than getting smacked with a belt.

I'm shocked and appalled that people would rather kids be delinquents and get run into at a grocery store or have a dinner or movie out interrupted by a child who's parents aren't keeping a handle on their kids.

And by the way, I got the belt once for saying my mom was fat. I never did that again.

There isn't enough information to warrant a lynching spirit. Some of the text thread here is condescending and hostile in tone. Don't think I will be apart of these texts threads again. Only tend towards a common sense approach to what appears to be an overblown account. Without a detailed reality of the household a said incident does not stand alone sufficient to merit felony charges. I don't offer a judgement of opinion on varieties of physical punishment parenting right or wrong, a mother losing control of herself with unknown factors is due mercy considering the level of those unstated factors. Without having her account is just plain bias interpretation. So I feel bad for this family and their overall difficulties. The mothers account could be heavy with distraught extenuating circumstances, its missing here. This isn't a mother torturing or burning cigarettes in arms of children. It appears to be a mother at wits end trying to deal with teenage resistance. I don't agree with using a belt, but a felony? Oh boy I hope our justice system isn't that opportunistic to now be putting parents in prison like this. Thank you.

@ Chris: so you are saying that if children are not physically disciplined, they will turn out to be delinquents? That simply isn't true. A child who doesn't do something out of fear that they will be physically punished has only learned fear - or to not get caught. There is no true teaching or learning happening in that type of scenario.

I never hit my children and they are polite and quite in public. My oldest has been an honor roll student since he started school. Kids should not learn abuse is normal. It's not. It only teaches violence is ok . Kids usually grow up and abuse drugs and alcohol. The pain will stay with them a lifetime ... I guarantee they will remember the punishment but not what they did wrong. Teach your kids through example. Show them love and attention.

Rik, My experience as a mother of 3 teenagers... THEY LIE. In this particular case, we do not know why the mother did what she did. This is about a mother who have gone too far in disciplining her daughter. I think 10 yrs is too much. Hell they dont even give that to drunk drivers who cause family pain. Everyone will have their opinion and that is the beauty of living in America. I feel that in this particular case, the mother went to far and she deserves consequences for her action. But have the punishment fit the crime not made as an example for others.

These are incredibly respectful and well behaved kids. Back off on your "rebellious teenager" theories!

And maybe they are respectful & well behaved. I'm sure there is alot more to this story & I agree with Jackie. Let the punishment fit the crime & she will have her day in court.

What bothers me is the sentence: thirty years and 100,000.00 in fines. No wonder our prisons are overcrowded. I look at moms possible consequence and think it is abusive, and unjust. In the late 60's early 70's in my first child development class, we as a class decided a belt was the best choice to spank children as belt material would not break bones as parents may not realize their strength. The other choices were a paddle from a paddle ball toy, wooden spoon, or hand. I agree most often in the real world, chlld rearing family when and if a parent chooses corporal punishment the parent has been pushed to the limit especially in the case of teens. I also know kids are exposed to many environments with the expectations of behavior changing for the kids in the various environments at times even more so for children living in divorced parent homes. Dad has one set of rules mom another with no official mediator negoitating common acceptable behaviors and consequences. Add the fact that many don't know, understand or consistently use limits, rewards and consequences of behavior modification and we end up with large numbers of children not learning acceptable social behaviors. Court involvement is probably not going to help this family. Mom already has been stripped of authority. Mom's best choice for self would be to let Social Services take the kids and pay support. Let the kids go into foster or institutional care and totally fail as the majority who enter at their ages do.

one thing overlooked in all of the emotion here is that there is a common law privilege of reasonable discipline. Also, Wisconsin law likewise provides for a privilege of reasonable discipline of a child. It does not ban spankings, even with an instrument such as a belt or a spoon, so long as it is reasonable and does not result in great bodily harm. The statutes recognize that there is a broad range of feeling on the subject of corporal punishment, and accordingly requires only reasonableness, not consensus that the discipline necessarily is correct.

The allegations here do not appear to meet the legal definition for great bodily harm. In fact, a "mark" could be nothing more than a temporary red mark on the skin that is gone in a few minutes, depending on the person. Great bodily harm requires some thing far more serious, such as a broken bone or disfigurement.

Also, in assessing whether the type of discipline here may or may not be appropriate based on circumstances of which we are not aware, we should all keep in mind that our great state authorizes adult prison sentences for kids as young as these who commit crimes, including sentences of up to life in prison without parole.

I would bet that the woman that hit her kids signed the recall petition. Take it from me; I’ve been hit by a few Progressives in my day. One of the most violent displays of human behavior you will see is when a Progressive loses an argument. We all saw the violent displays during the Act 10 protests and the hate crimes launched against Rebecca Kleefisch, Scott Walker, and Glen Grothman ect. Progressives get their way through violence and intimidation. I will await the name of the 38 year old woman from Port Washington and confirm if my hunch was right.

Well, now you know why some kids are the way they are nowadays. No respect, lazy, punky attitudes. The little darlings can't be touched by their parents or the parents are the ones threatened to go to jail. This mother did not use the belt for no reason. This society has really gotten pathetic! Then people wonder why the youth in this country go off the deep end. It's not because of discipline, it's due to lack of discipline!

This is very very sad. Children look up to their parents more than anyone else, breaks my heart.