Parents Take Out Free Babysitting Ad After Teen Breaks Curfew

One of the more difficult aspects of parenting in the 21st century has got to be discipline. We live in a complicated world, where kids and parents alike are used to getting what they want in seconds, at the mere click of a mouse button. Impulse control and delayed gratification have always been challenges for kids, whether they be toddlers or teens; but the world we live in makes it even tougher for kids to learn them.

Discipline has become complicated too. Go back a generation or two, and the rule was, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." Now parents are judged for everything from a swat on the bottom to giving their child a time-out. What works? How should we approach discipline? Will our parental authority be undermined before we can even get the message across?

Here's a reaction I wrote after reading about the Texas parents who sentenced their 16-year-old to 30 hours of free babysitting after she had a late night party in their home. What would you have done? Do you think she'll learn her lesson?

The Offence


Kirstin Rausch got bored one night when her girl friend was staying over. At bedtime she decided to invite about half a dozen friends over for an impromptu party in her family's media room. Her father and step-mother woke up at 2:30 a.m., and her friends were still in the house. The 16-year-old honour student was caught red handed, having broken both her bedtime curfew and the house rule against having friends over late at night.


The Punishment
Robert Rausch sentenced his daughter to 30 hours of unpaid babysitting. Rausch and his wife Wendy had initially wanted Kirstin to take part in a community service project, but when several community organizations were unable to assign a project, the family got more creative.

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