Lesson Given: Was Momma Right?

 This morning, I was watching a brief interview on Fox News regarding Ms. Diane Lyons and  her six-year old daughter, who had been caught shoplifting for the second time. Unimpressed  by the inactions of the store manager during the first incident, she took what some may seem as a drastic step: She called the cops. On her daughter. I will not present an opinion on her decision. That is nobody's business but hers, and her family. However, I would like to relate my own personal experience to my readers.

In 1994, my family and I were stationed on Howard Air Force Base, Panama. My wife and I had three sons, and at some point it came to my attention that my oldest son had stolen an adult magazine from the military version of a convienence store. After some time verifying the story, I confronted my son, and he shortly 'fessed up his transgression. As a Security Flight Chief at the time, I was kind of torn. Sworn to uphold the law, and now I have a child breaking it. So, I called a law enforcement patrol to the house, and we placed my son in the patrol vehicle (no handcuffs), and his friends and our neighbors were witness to the whole scene. This was not intened as humiliation. It was simply a case of breaking the law and the consequences.

I followed the officer and my son to the store and we contacted the manager. I initially wanted my son to perform some type of labors to right his wrong. However, under store policies, no one except store employees are allowed to perform duties there. I could understand that, but I was still puzzled as to how to have my son realize his actions and the wrongness of them. At the time, the 24th Security Police Squadronn had a horse patrol and accompanying stables. So, the light just about gleamed in my head.

First, I contacted my friend, the Chief of SPS Horse Patrol, and we devised a plan that we could take to the squadron commander. Once the plan was ready for submission to the commander, we went to him, and he was very enthusiastic. The plan called for my son to report to the stables for one hour each day, after school, to help mainatin the stables. This would include cleaning the stables, filling food troughs, and anything else Sgt Reynolds required, keeping in mind that he was a 12 year old boy.

Some of you may find this a cruel for a boy that age, but I'm telling you, he became a man during those two weeks. He kept up his studies, and eventually asked to be allowed to return on weekends, after the punishment period was complete, to take care of "his horses". My son learned the value of right versus wrong, but more importantly, he learned that taking care of others that depend on you was a responsibility he embraced. He learned to groom, maintain proper dietary requirements and even the importance of the daily walks that the horses required to remain fit and healthy.  He insisted that his mom, dad, and brothers visit "his horses" as often as possible. The transformation was remarkable.  He grew up. We always had to bring carrots, apples, etc., for his team. It was wonderful to see. His brothers also saw the value in the exercise, and took on a better understanding of what responsibility as a citizen entails.

By no means is this an example of "perfect parenting". Thre is no such thing. Each parent must react to a child's transgressions as they see fit. I merely wanted to share this story with you. Sometimes, alternate punishment is warranted, and in my case it was effective. You guys go on about your parenting as you see fit; it is not my business, and it is not right, nor will I, ever question a parent's techniques. I just wanted to share a story.