I'll be different here While in no way supporting these 'parents' or what they did, humiliation can be a big motivator, especially for a teen, and moreso when it is rather well known While this went too far, is it not also the parents responsibility to do what they can to assure their child gets a proper education? I would hope that they made every effort to help her with her studies before reaching punishment stage (but I somehow doubt that happened). And I know how stubborn and rebellious I was in my teens- it took something severe to get my attention back then
My points-
1- The diaper wasn't too much all by itself so long as she wasn't forced to use it. Making her go out in public with it exposed was going too far though. Had they made her stay home in it and let her friends visit if they wanted to, or let her cover it in public it might have been a realistic punishment.
2- Shaving her head was definitely too much because it will take many, many months for it to grow back enough to be styled into anything presentable. At her age this is going to be traumatic. Making her braid her hair on the very top or front of her head so she looked silly would have accomplished the same thing but not have any lasting effects.
3- The physical part shouldn't have harmed her. In fact, most kids these days could use more physical exercise for their own good.
4- The public humiliation part wouldn't have been bad had it not been this. More appropriate would have been to have made here wear a T-shirt that said "I failed my (fill-in-the-blank) class because I didn't study so I am stupid" or something like that. Just showing such a shirt to most teens to prove that you might do it would be enough to motivate them.
I'm looking for discussion, not arguments, here. I want to see how everyone thinks about this- especially those who were once stubborn teens like myself (or as close to me as you could get- it would be tough for you to match my rotten record of teen behavior ) I can see where diapers could be a reasonable punishment for a teen- just not used in this manner!
Whadda ya think?
Bettypooh