Walk a mile in his shoes

[Long Run]

Hawaiian man fined $200 for making son walk mile home from school as punishment
Judge Kathleen Watanabe also ordered Robert Demond to attend parenting classes for his 'old-school' punishment, which he dished out when his son refused to talk about alleged misbehaving in class.
BY Lee Moran
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, May 30, 2014, 10:21 AM

A Hawaiian man has been sentenced to one year of probation for making his misbehaving son walk a mile home from school.

Robert Demond was also fined $200 and ordered to attend parenting classes after a judge called the punishment "old-school" and "no longer appropriate."

"These are different times," Judge Kathleen Watanabe told the defendant.

"It's understandable you became upset with your son, but it's dangerous for children to walk along the highway, and there are predators out there," she reportedly added.

Demond, of Kilauea, had picked his son up from school when he asked him about an alleged incident, according to The Garden Island.

When his son - whose age has not been revealed - didn't reply, Demond made him walk home to think about his actions.

Despite saying he didn't think the punishment was morally wrong or criminal, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... z33ghmnKEt

Is there something missing from this story? Was the highway super dangerous or did the father have something else going on? How the heck did this get reported to the authorities in the first place? Clearly, having a kid walk a mile is reasonable "punishment" (count me as one of the multitude who regularly walked about a mile or so to and from Kindergarten on up to high school).

[Joe Guy]

I sure would like to see more info on this story. I don't think a judge should be telling people how to punish their kids unless there is some kind of history of (real) abuse.

btw - I used to walk two miles to and from kindergarten when I was a kid - and it was uphill in both directions!!

[Econoline]

The Garden Island's comment section lit up on the story about the Kilauea man who got probation, a fine and an order to attend parenting classes for making his son walk a mile as "old school" discipline. Oh, the outcry against Judge Kathleen Watanabe, the Office of Prosecuting Attorney and the nanny state.

Too bad the reporter didn't provide the full story: A lady found the 8-year-old boy screaming and hysterical in the bushes, with no idea where he was or how to get home, so she called police.

Discipline is fine. Seriously traumatizing your kid is, fortunately, against the law.

(source)