What do you think should be the punishment for the "Hot Sauce Mom" who poured hot sauce in her 7 year old son's mouth and put him in a cold shower?

Someone larger, stronger, and in a position of authority over her should pour hot sauce into her mouth and scream in her face while she’s in a cold shower. Poetic justice.

I think she should JUST THIS ONCE be given a break. She went to a psychologist to ask for help.

*EDIT: she asked her eldest daughter to record this “punishment” to show Dr. Phil what she was doing——she has 6 kids. 2 boys are from Russia, the rest are biological. She and her children have all stated this particular child was the only one receiving any punishment like this.

It appeared to me that she felt as though she’d run out of options. This particular child was getting reprimanded at school regularly. It appeared to Dr. Phil that possibly the child had Asperger’s.

In this case I think the entire family has and will continue to get therapy.

BTW-Dr. Phil recently spoke about this in an interview. The mom will NOT be punished because she agreed to a rigorous schedule of therapy. The court did recognize her need for help. The Russian Consulate DID come and review the case and found no reason to have the adopted children (one of which was the one seen in the video) to be removed.

I think she shouldn’t be allowed to have children in her care. She either had a melt down or is simply a sadistic person. She was endangering his life. You can get physical burns from hot sauce depending on how hot or he could’ve had an allergic reaction. Either way, I’m not sure she needs punishment as she definately needs mental help.

Numerous amounts of parenting classes that she must test out of to complete, though they probably don’t exist. Unfortunately, the mother was probably raised this way. It is ashame that parents don’t realize that the easiest way to modify a child behavior is my calmly explaining to them what they did wrong, give them a suitable punishment and make them understand why they are being punished and what they could have done different. Even starting this at an early age like 3 is good as it will be reinforced and grow like a seed later in life.

I think she should have a habanero shoved up her ass.

A hot sauce enema, followed by some waterboarding.

More therapy and parenting classes than you can shake a stick at. And if anything even remotely close to that happens again (or is even threatened), remove the kids from her care.

Falcon PUNCH!

@cockswain That would be a terrible waste of a good pepper.

I think she got what she needed. As long as it doesn’t happen again, as far as I am concerned it is over.

Well, just something odd-shaped, kind of large, with jagged edges, that is also very hot. Whatever that might be.

Do we know what it is the kid did to get this punishment and what kind of hot sauce was used?

I’m sure they will teach her all about pain in prison, inmates usually self regulate that kind of stuff.

@SpatzieLover Has she actually done the counseling? The last time I saw something about it, it said that while she did ask for help, she didn’t follow through with any of the help that Dr. Phil helped get set up for her when she got back to Alaska.

@12Oaks In the video, she mentions him having to pull cards in school and then lying about having to pull the cards. The hot sauce is shown in the video, but I couldn’t make out what kind it was.

Here’s the video of her for those that want to see it. It was really hard for me to watch and I’ll admit I was crying by the end (just for a heads up).

Here’s another discussion that we recently had about this here on Fluther (it’s more about abuse than what should be done to the mother).

Personally, I think she should be in counseling and the little boy needs to be in counseling as well. I don’t think she should have this little boy or any of her other children under her care until she completes anger management, some parenting classes, and some therapy to help her get through what’s causing the feelings she has for this little boy compared to his brother. In one report I read, she even said that she just doesn’t really care for this one as much as the other boy. While I think jail time is appropriate, I don’t see how they is going to help her get passed whatever is causing her to think this is appropriate behavior. I’d love for her to get a taste of her own medicine, but it wouldn’t teach her anything and I doubt it would make a difference.

I’d like to beat the shit out of her. That was horrible, and I turned it off after 1 minute.

Well at the rate most of you think, half or more of the parents from the 50’s would either be in jail or not allowed to raise kids because they put soap in the mouth of their kids for cursing. Up until a few years ago, cold showers were recommended for kids just a little older then this one was. While this would not be my choice of discipline, it was hardly abuse.

Another reason why I hate religion.

Perfect example of why people should be required to get a license before becoming a parent.

While this would not be my choice of discipline, it was hardly abuse.

I’m going to get some dinner, then check in and see where this comment leads.

Yeah, @missingbite you lost me there. Wow.

@missingbite When were cold showers ever recommended for children? I’ve never heard that one before. Also, it’s more than just the fact that she used the hot sauce and the cold shower, it’s how she did it. She made him sit with the hot sauce in his mouth for several minutes. He couldn’t swallow it or spit it out. The whole time he’s sitting with it in his mouth, she’s right in his face yelling at him. Then after she lets him spit it out, she makes him strip and get in the cold shower. While in the cold shower, he’s crying and screaming, and she proceeds to yell and scream at him the whole time he’s in the shower. When you put the whole situation together, it’s abuse, without a question in my mind.

While things may have been done in the past, it doesn’t mean we don’t learn from them and improve things for the future. There are many things that could’ve happened with what she did. He could have choked or gotten burned from having the hot sauce in his mouth for that time. He could have went into shock from being in the cold shower. There are dangers to what she did, it’s definitely abuse, and it needs to be stopped.

@Seaofclouds I said a little older and it has to do with hormones. “Go take a cold shower” has been told to many a young one with a little too much on his mind.

I have had my mouth washed with soap and I can promise you, lye soap is a lot more toxic to the tongue than hot sauce. Again, probably not the best idea but hardly worthy of calling it abuse.

I don’t condone the yelling either. However, we are looking at a video clip and don’t know the whole story of this parent or child.

I just feel we are to quick to say something is abuse when it may or may not be.

Here is a good write up on the way I see it.

I like this question it’s like a continuation to my, “do you think hot sauce is abuse” question.
On that note my thought is as long as your child is not military ready, than drop the military punishment.
I think she should have to sit in a room of screaming kids everyday for 6 hours for a month tied to a chair…lol reverse psychology should do the trick.

Okay, so I just watched the video, I have to say that mom went too far with the punishment. At first I was thinking that it wasn’t going to be that bad my parents used to wash my mouth out with soap for back talking and my dad tried a drop of hot sauce once, to which my reply was, “It’s not hot,” Lesson learned, right? but it was. The cold shower thing is just crazy and the hot sauce was way too much. I think it’s horrible what she did to the kid, but like @missingbite, I wouldn’t call it abuse. However, I would never condone this and I definitely think this woman needs to learn how to discipline her kids properly. I think the proper punishment would be to let that little boy do the exact same thing to her that she did to him. Complete with yelling, “Don’t you spit that hot sauce at me!” Film it and put it on YouTube.

In the military, we use cold showers for discipline, to get people’s attention
according to the dad, they got the idea of hot sauce from a friend.

By no means do I condone this act (I wouldn’t even classify this as discipline), however, I do know parents that regularly use vinegar as “punishment” for their children when they act up or speak rudely.

we happen to utilize time outs and rewards in our home

There seems to be an awful lot of people on this thread looking for revenge rather than actually improving the situation. The mother and child involved should go through rigorous counselling, a child welfare specialist should make regular checks on the family, and apart from that they should be left alone. It is a terrible, inexcusable thing to do to anyone, especially a child, but only education and retraining can make sure the children are administered appropriate discipline in the future.

I think she should at least be forced to take extensive parenting classes and personal counselling; along with counselling for her and her child together.
I agree with @FireMadeFlesh.

I just want to clarify my comment was solely based on a thought. By no means would it ever be employed as any kind of revenge factor if I was thinking revenge I would come up with many other colorful ways after all the question is “What do you think…” my idea would never be employed in real life as a punishment…just wanted to clear that up.
On the other side I think if you want to talk about a real punishment, I do believe it would be absolutely impossible to start to put rules down on where to draw a line with discipline, I mean there has to be some disciplinary ability without it where would we be and the authorities can not babysit every negligent parent. What is really ok anymore? I really do think we are along way from the used to be put your dogs face in the poop idea so something else has to work, you got me? Let’s employ the Big Bangs Theory, The Gothowitz Deviation episode idea:
Leonard: I know what your doing.
Sheldon: You do?
Leonard: You’re using chocolate as a positive reinforcement for what you consider is a correct behavior!
Sheldon: Very good! Chocolate?

She definitely needs to get some counseling… That poor kid. Obviously the discipline she is using isn’t working for him, and making it worse isn’t going to help him. She needs to do some counseling with him and figure out what works for him. CPS should probably do some drop ins ever now and then too… this is a very sad situation… I don’t even know what to say.

Maybe the kid deserved it? Just saying..

@mammal And then what would the punishment for the people who do that to her be?

@J0E So then since you look at it that way I have to ask this then, what is the punishment for the judge and jury? Again how do we discipline the discipline? This is the same problem people have with animals. Everyones ideas and beliefs are different…this lady just happened to go on national tv, there are many more unseen, never caught inappropriate things happening around the world. You can change the rules all you want you can try to stop the violence you can try to change peoples minds, but it’s not always going to work, there are always going to be the ones who take it into there own hands, afterall we are only human.

@Meego They don’t get punished. It’s their job to decide on a sentence that is fitting for the crime. In other words, the criminal has sentenced themselves. Torture, however, is just putting evil on top of evil. If you do that to someone you are no better than them.

@Meego Also? I’m pretty sure the sentences that judges and juries hand down aren’t usually things like “Rape them.”

@J0E I realise they don’t get punished and so on I also don’t think everyone was really serious, but who am I I do applaud you for being on the less evil side tho. But if the criminal has sentenced themselves I have to ask why is it ok for a judge to decide someone should be killed by lethal injection. @MacBean they may not say you are here by sentenced to rape but actually indirectly yeah they might as well, what do you think happens in jail to most of these criminals??

So now I have to ask then why does anyone have any say on any one persons life at all criminal or not? And just because you are a judge or a jury does not mean you just can’t automatically by default not sentence an individual to torture. Not every judge is as sympathising as you may think.

You don’t really have to respond to this it’s really just my opinion, and again the question was “what do you think…” we are not judges or juries and we were asked our opinion and that what was got, just saying.

@sarahjane90 No kid deserves to be tortured. Children are resilient, and will generally dislike parents because of such punishments, and therefore will do what pushes their parents’ buttons just because they don’t like them. Discipline is much more effective when the child is made to understand why they shouldn’t be doing what they did, rather than simply learning to associate it with the anger of a monster.

@Meego ”…but actually indirectly yeah they might as well…”
.
I hope you know that’s bullshit. It happens, yes, I’m not denying that. But to say that they might as well just say it like that because that’s the underlying intention when a sentence is passed is ridiculous.

@Meego It’s not okay to decide someone should be killed by lethal injection, I think that’s wrong. Why does anyone have say over anyone else’s life? Because there are laws, and people know the consequences of breaking them, if you still break the law then you give up certain rights. Every judge in America is that sympathetic, because they have to be. Torture is a cruel and unusual punishment, it’s illegal.

@MacBean and @J0E
No I don’t think it’s the underlying intention of every judge and/or jury to torture each criminal and yes I do believe a criminal would have put themselves into their own situation but do know as soon as you hit jail it’s a whole different ballgame its just unspoken of when a trial is ongoing and even on the inside the innocent appearing can be just as corrupt. But I think we are slightly going off route here as for the justice system that’s another story, we are simply going on intention here, and if we the Fluther were the judge and jury, my take would be totally different as I do feel it is very evil to put in action, not so evil to have the idea. Now the other ? What was the intention of the mother? And that is greatly stated by @FireMadeFlesh

@sarahjane90 No child deserves that treatment.