An incident from the recent past about a mother bullying her cyber-bully daughter made numerous rounds in the electronic media. In the realm of social media the news spread like wildfire, more appropriately termed as “going viral”. In the incident a mother shamed her cyber-bullying daughter online by making her pose with a poster that said that she is selling her iPod as punishment for her crime. The image showed the North Carolina teenager, named Hailey, holding up a handwritten poster saying that she is selling her device to raise money for an anti-bullying charity called Beat Bullying. People who came across this image had divided opinions about the issue with some calling the mother a bigger bully while some terming her a hero. Since the issue has generated serious discourse, it is important for parents to know how to deal with bullies when they are from their own stock.

After shocks

Hailey’s mother, Cara Schneider, was accused by online commentators of using bullying tactics against her daughter after the image was posted on Facebook and later shared on Reddit. One commentator wrote: “Humiliating your child to teach her not to humiliate other children? Gee, I wonder where she gets it!”

Another commentator said: “This is terrible parenting… It’s like this make kids hate their parents. This will only make her behave worst out of spite.”

On the other hand, Schneider had defended her actions by saying that she did the right thing by posting the picture online for everyone to see so that her daughter could learn how important it is to behave appropriately towards others, the Examiner reported.

During the course of discussion, she also revealed that she came up with this method after using most of the conventional methods used to discipline children.

“I'm not worried about the negative that has been said about her punishment,” Schneider posted on her Facebook page. “I am her mother and I did what I thought was best given the circumstances. I've tried other punishments, and this fit the crime. I don't regret a thing.”

Scarce support

Most people voiced their strong opposition to the methods applied by this particular mother to knock some obedience into the head of her daughter. Even so, there were those who voiced their support in favor of the mother.

One supporter said: “This makes me happy, because so often people only get caught after it’s far too late to help the victims. Brava, mom. Brava.”

Since similar cases have already been witnessed in the past as well, the ongoing debate about the issue of parents punishing their children on the right grounds has continued to this day. Last year, a father of a 15-year-old daughter made her wear a t-shirt showing his face with the message “Try Me!!” to school. She had broken far too many curfews that prompted her father to come up with this punishment.

Let’s not forget that this debate is very personal and the perspective can change from person to person based on their experiences in life. One should also remember that parents need to check their actions once in a while before going for the kill. By doing so, parents can teach their kids a lesson without really destroying their self-confidence. So, how to prevent cyberbullying in its initial stages? Well, one can always agree with some things and disagree with others, especially when an issue is as sensitive as the one discussed above. Maybe the best way is to think before you leap rather than jump blind and fall into waist deep troubles.