An Alaskan mom who sought help from Dr. Phil has been charged with child abuse after footage from his show that showed her extreme discipline methods went viral. Jessica Beagley resorted to punishing her 7-year-old son with cold showers and hot sauce on his tongue when he lied. Viewers were outraged by what they saw and complained to police, who launched an investigation.
"What happens when you lie to me?" she asks in the video
"I get hot sauce. You get hot sauce," the boy responds.
The mom asks, "What else happens when you lie to me?"
"I get a cold shower," he says, and the footage shows him screaming in the shower.
The mother admitted she is at the end of her rope when she resorts to these measures, which is why she went on the show -- to get help. And it's heartbreaking to watch. But is it really child abuse? Check out the video and see what you think:
I know parents who use hot sauce as a discipline tool. I have threatened my own 7-year-old son with it. Fortunately, he's pretty well behaved and a random time-out or the threat of losing a favorite toy is the most I've ever had to use as punishment. But if he was out of control, I don't know what I'd do. Hot sauce? Perhaps. I don't think that falls into the child abuse category.
As for the cold showers, those get closer to the line, but I'm still not convinced they cross it. It's not something I could do to my own child, but unless they're left in there for a lengthy time, it's not causing them physical harm, and her intent wasn't to harm him but to make him behave. What about parents who force their children to run laps, or do push-ups, or clean toilets as punishment -- where do we draw the line?
One psychologist on The Early Show said the anxiety and shock of such treatment can lead to a type of post-traumatic stress disorder. But a parent who yells incessantly or ignores her children for computer games could likely do damage as well -- are we going to lock them up too? Just how far do we want the law to go into the way we raise our children?
"Nothing Jessica has done is criminal," Bill Ingaldson, a lawyer for Beagley, told ABC News. "If you give your child food that has hot sauce on it -- maybe they eat Mexican food -- does that mean it's child abuse?"
Beagley's husband is a police officer; they're active in their church. They've adopted four children from Russia (one of whom is the boy in the video); social services has investigated and found no signs of abuse. She doesn't sound like an abuser to me, but rather a mom trying to find something that works, a mom who needs help and asked for it, but got handed child abuse charges instead.
Do you think "hot sauce mom" should be charged with child abuse?
Image via YouTube
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Comments 156
As a chef I am going to attempt the more logical side of this. We do not know the type of hot sauce. As dumb as that may sound, there is a scoville unit to measure the heat of the pepper that makes the sauce. Some of these have peppers that register in the millions, like the ghost pepper. Any idiot that feeds something that hot to a child, deserves what they get. That can do some serious damage to a little developing tummy and taste buds. However, that being said, I don't see a huge issue if it was a hot sauce that is fairly tame such as franks. They use that on potato chips and it just tastes like vinegar mostly. I may not agree with the hot sauce tactic, as I don't think using food or condiments as a behavioural modification tool is appropriate. But that is just my opinion. The cold shower however, that's a messed up in my thoughts. And hits a little closer to the mark of abusive. My other thought is, if you can't handle a child and all they do, don't have them! And thank you so much for putting another damper on international adoption. Soon, no one will be able to adopt from Russia. That little boy is half of a set of twins this lady adopted, and she can't figure out better coping skills? Better discipline? I guess my main concern is if this is how it starts for her, where does she draw the line?
Hot sauce burns the mouth. I know for me, it would cause physical pain. If it didn't, then why would you even try it? To me, that's unacceptable... and if she's doing it because she's at the end of her rope, then she needed to remove herself and calm down.
My mom used hot sauce when we would curse. Didn't do any lasting damage, although I still refuse to say some naughty words. It's not abuse, it's punishment for doing wrong. Dr. Phil is an attention-hungry quack so I'm sure the actual punishment was not as dramatic as it seemed. I don't see any abuse here, I see a mom trying to figure out an effective method of teaching a child right from wrong.
K first I thought a little hot sauce not bad. Then I watched the vid it's more then a little she pours it in. I just take a little eye dropper and it is a small drop on the tongue. Now let's add in the cold showers the yelling. Yep she is an abusive mother and someone needs to pour hot sauce down her throat, force her to sit in a freezin cold shower and yell in her face and drag her around like a dog.
I think people need to get off the hot sauce kick, and look at the bigger picture. This woman sure, isnt beating her kids but shes emotionally abusing them. Not to mention what kind of long lasting pyschological problems this could cause this poor kid, and his siblings! I watched the episode of Dr. Phil, she OUTRIGHT admitted she ONLY does this to the one child. How would that make him feel? not very freaking good. Mommy loves you more than me, mommy treats them better htan me, I'm not good enough for Mommy to love me... need I continue? With all the people in this world who would love to have a child, treat them like gold, teach them the correct ways without such harsh punishments.. why should she be allowed to continue to parent in such a way? Hell if I know. Looks like a Mommy Dearest situation to me...
Are you kidding? Why is she adopting children if she doesnt know how to control her own behavior. One more word...ABUSE!