Tripp PalinDiscipline doesn’t come naturally to some moms. In fact, it’s something a lot of us (not me, but a lot of us) have a hard time with, especially when it comes to young children. To spank or not to spank? When to punish and when to let it roll? But that doesn’t mean the discipline doesn’t need to happen. Given behavioral carte blanche because their parent(s) are too reluctant to put them in check somehow, kids will run roughshod over the whole household, mom included.

Bristol Palin admits she's no disciplinarian. But the absolute worst thing to do when a little one is showing their behind is to laugh at them. Seriously. It’s not cute and it’s darn sure not funny. So this clip of her being tickled by the hoots and hollers of her three-year-old mini ball of fury, Tripp, set my hackles on fire. Especially since he told his aunt he hated her and then proceeded to call her what sounds like “faggot.” 



When I first watched, I had to run it back in disbelief like, ho, ho, hold on: did that boy just call her… that F word? And did they both just giggle their way through the whole debacle? That temper tantrum shouldn’t have happened in the first place—temper tantrums are the absolute worst and I don’t handle watching them well—but certainly, certainly it’s unacceptable for a three-year-old to try to purposely insult an adult and then not be immediately checked because of it. 

Secondly, you have to wonder: Where’d he pick that word up from in the first place?

In response to outrage about the moment, filmed as part of their Lifetime reality series, “Life’s a Tripp,” mama Bristol Palin claimed her son actually said that other F bomb, which was of course bleeped out. Her son doesn’t use slurs, she said in her blog, and explains it’s all a big misunderstanding. She admits too that she has a hard time raising Tripp, which most of us can relate to since child-rearing ain’t the easiest job anybody ever signed up for.   

Look, I’ve watched the video over and over it sounded like the kid said a two-syllable word that starts with an F. But either one is an ugly term for a child to have in their vocabulary. But it’s her reaction that’s more irksome than his actual slandering. That giggling isn’t going to do much to stop him from throwing name-calling temper tantrums over and over again.

If you’re going to be on reality TV, you’re going to have to hop off the defensive and know that people are going to judge for any and everything, from the color makeup you wear to the way you do or don’t discipline your child. But the mission should be not to “set the record straight,” but to stop copping out about not being a good disciplinarian and learn how to be one. Because it looks like little Tripp needs it, and the older he gets, the less funny it’s going to be. I promise her that.

How did you form your discipline style?


Image via Lifetime