Adriyanna Herdener and Wilfredo Rivera were arrested for child abuse after they admitted to washing out the mouth of their 8-year-old daughter with soap for swearing.
The parents had left the soap in the girl’s mouth for 10 minutes and when she began to vomit, they decided to take her to the hospital. One report says that the girl had an allergic reaction and that the parents made her chew the soap.
It certainly seems like these parents took the punishment a bit too far. However, this is a standard punishment for children and raises an interesting question as to its basis for a criminal charge. Yet, even spanking can go too far and become abuse — though spanking with a paddle was found by the Minnesota Supreme Court not to be abuse, here. The question is whether forcing a child to chew the soap and hold the soap in her mouth for ten minutes are excessive. (Rivera also initially reportedly refused care for the girl).
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If you hit your kids, or force them to hold soap in their mouths, I’m coming for you. I will get you, and you will NEVER do this to a child again. See you soon sickos
I really think you gotta be a doped up idiot to make you kid chew soap wow I threaten my son with soap in the mouth and I give him the choice of time out the day he takes the soap ill choose another punishment option for him but by no means would I see my grandma go to jail for making me hold a bar inbetween my lips or the wooden spoon she paddled my behind with I grew up great and am not damaged as to the experience but you bet your but I watch my mouth and don’t talk back to grandma 89 years old and grams still pop knots on your forehead lol
Im a kid and a few hours ago I read this what terrible parents they are
The finale was getting the soap scraped on the front 2 teeth…..Dad did it with a big smile and after it i’de sit down face as red as a tomato and Dad making me finish that bit!!.
Dad used to wash my mouth out with soap for swearing or answering him bck, once he did it infront of all my friends, once all lathered up he embarrassed me saying “now who’s a little Madam?” everyone burst out laughing at my red face as he put the whole bar in but it worked.
As one who strongly supports the right of all responsible adults to be able to smack a misbehaving child, I have to say that this couple most certainly went too way too far.
Reasonable punishment is one thing but this is just a complete loss of self control by these parents.
Mike. I have read many of your posts over the couple of weeks I have been visiting this site and have a great deal of respect for you. However, I can’t help but think that your reaction to being smacked as a kid puts you in a minority. In my lifetime I have so far only met one person for whom smacking as a punishment did not work. This chap just happens to be hard as nails. His parents realised that smacking him did not work, so instead they would send him to bed early as punishment for bad behaviour. That did the trick for him and he has now been running a successful engineering firm for the last 30 years.
To Mike Spindell, spanking is not contra-productive if it’s done right. Sorry to hear you had some bad experiences with it, but I turned out alright because of it so who’s to say if it’s productive?
A parent could ‘control’ (I prefer the term guide) a child’s behaviour with some nasty psychological techniques too, you know. I think I’d prefer the physical ones…
But as for “this is a standard punishment”… maybe proverbally, yes, and in movies, old movies, ok. But this is the 21th century, yes? We got tasers now, damnit!
“this is a standard punishment for children”
In what century? Can I beat my wife too? People bring out the argument to tradition to defend this behavior. It is a double standard. It is illegal to use corporal punishment on a domestic partner, yet it is accepted practice on children and they are the most vulnerable.
My mother would have gotten life.
david : I alnost posted that video clip from YouTube late last night
one thing though, Scott Fargas..is..Scut Farcus
I had a cat I wanted to name Scut Farcus but my SO wouldn’t let me
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktzt096mlxs&hl=en&fs=1&]
Child abuse my ass. Yes, I know plenty of parents who did this. Maybe ten minutes is a bit much. One or two would be sufficient. good grief people, parents have done worst.
“However, this is a standard punishment for children”, really? Where? Maybe in the 1930’s Little Rascal” movies but introducing toxic chemicals into your child as a form of punishment seeems a little wacky to me.
Apparently none of you have ever seen “A Christmas Story.” Remember when Ralphie comes home tapping a cane and his parents ask why he has gone blind. He resists at first, and then reluctantly says, “It was… It was…. Soap Poisoning.”
The dad then says to the mom, “I told you you should have used life buoy.”
This sad scene comes about because of Ralphie’s language in what came to be known as the “Scott Fargas Affair” and represents a fantasy Ralphie has about making his parents feel guilty for washing his mouth out with soap for swearing.
Apparently Ralphie’s view of the effect of soap on kids has now attained general acceptance within CPS.
(video at signature)
This is child abuse no doubt and indicates that this couple are too ignorant to understand the responsibility of parenting. As for
paddling/spanking these are contra-productive activities, although
sadly with wide recognition by too many parents, that create effects opposite the intent. If a parent can’t control a child’s behavior without these techniques, they need to take parenting classes. By the way I was corporeally punished as a child and all it did was make me become wilder, but sneakier, not to mention fill me with rage that it’s taken years to work out.
Batty and Booked: Man Arrested for Assault of Officer With Pillow
Police …. While the officers concluded the son was not overdosing, an argument ensued when Erik through [threw]a pillow at an offer.
nal, you are losing your edge. Hey, hey, my, my rock and roll is here to annoy.
rafflaw,
Probably someone in the church. This does appear to be excessive to me. But heck as one who suffered the wrath and my mom was in the medical field. Now I know I was the victim of abuse. That explains it all.
These parents should be forced to go through parenting classes and maybe they can see the child again. I wonder who she learned the swear words from??
…and yet we require a license to own a dog.
Are you kidding me? “The question is whether forcing a child to chew the soap and hold the soap in her mouth for ten minutes are excessive.” Im pretty damn sure that’s excessive…