Public Opinion Says Punishing Kids With Hot Sauce Is Child Abuse [INFOGRAPHIC]

by SodaHead Infographics Posted 2011/08/25 22:00:00

Related Topics: Public Opinion, Infographic, SodaHead Infographic, Deep Dive, Hot Sauce, Mother, Hot Sauce Mom, Infographics, SodaHead Infographics, parents, Child Abuse, Jessica Beagley, Dr. Phil, Moms, Dads, ABC News, School, Mom

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Earlier this week we showed SodaHeads a video clip of Jessica Beagley, a 36-year-old Anchorage woman, forcing her 8-year-old child to keep hot sauce in his mouth and take cold showers as punishment for behavioral problems at school.

The video is from a November episode of "Dr. Phil," so you may have seen it before, but Beagley was just recently charged with misdemeanor child abuse because of her actions.

Here's an except from the original "Hot Sauce Mom" story:

She could get up to a year in prison along with her $10,000 fine, and The Anchorage Daily News reports it only took the jury one day to decide she was guilty.

Henry Paul, a Mount Sinai psychiatrist, told ABC News, "The stun -- the shock -- the acute anxiety can also lead to [a] long-term type of post-traumatic stress disorder that we often see in criminals who are incarcerated.

Most SodaHeads thought the hot sauce treatment was way out of line, but there are always dissenters. So it's time to take a deeper look into the demographics behind our results and see who they were.

Let's dive.

incarcerated sodaheads hot sauce treatment line dissenters deeper demographics dive

incarcerated sodaheads hot sauce treatment line dissenters deeper demographics dive

+35

harley oldman 2011/08/25 22:49:16

+28
Where I was raised ( South Louisiana) they punished Kids by taking the Hot Sauce away from them.
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lill 2011/08/27 16:52:13

+6
I am not going to judge the mother too harshly because I don't know what drove her to do this. If she did this for no reason then it was abuse. If she did this because her kid is a holy *(&*^$ terror, who does whatever the hell he wants and it was the least form of punishment she could think of aside from beating the crap out of him and putting him in the hospital, then I will not judge her for it. In case no one has noticed, kids are getting more spoiled and rotten by the minute. I observe kids being disrespectful brats just about everywhere I go every single day. Every time I am at target and see a kid screaming obscenities at his mom, or kicking their moms in the shins while screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs. The mom's just stand there with a scared dead look in their eyes and ask the little devil "Please stop kicking Mommy little Billy, or Mommy doesn't like it when you shout". I have to walk away before I grab the precious brat and slap him silly. Sometimes a smack is a necessary evil.

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Abel Lewis 2011/08/27 16:19:37

My opinion is this is not even necessary.

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FantasyAuthor 2011/08/27 14:24:55

I was only punished once in my 22 years of life, yet it only took one time to punish me to realize that I don't want to do what I had done to get punished like I did once in my life time.

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Merhabi Daham 2011/08/27 12:11:13

+3
At least they aren't beating the kids to within an inch of their lives or depriving them of food and water. If this is child abuse, and spanking your kids is child abuse, and yelling at your kids is child abuse, WTH am i supposed to do when Jimmy shaves the neighbors cat...again?

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ramyb 2011/08/27 09:47:03

Do you really actually believe that? it has been there a lot of ways to punish children, and that's the best you can get? comparing to other torture methods like forcing them eating soap and leaving them wet naked at a freezing night ... this could be a bit acceptable.
besides, what kind of parents who punish cruelly their children? just a punch of disturbed people. a child in order to become an effective member in a society, you have to baby him for a long time, by showing him the right things and so on and so forth. and believe me if he is not seeing you as a parent acting weird and doing wrong things he won't do that.

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Sahara 2011/08/27 08:18:50

i dont think theyd be able to receive the same punishment themselves. Id say that kind of punishment is adult

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Wyveryx 2011/08/27 05:41:02

+2
Sad part is that most children in juvenile haven't had a decent upbringing when it comes to discipline. I'd bet that a majority aren't even sure what it is that they did wrong, but that's purely speculative.
Not all children will act the same, so not all punishments are equal, but I'll tell anyone here that says the way I treat my children, when it comes to discipline, is abusive... To shut the hell up.
I know this person who is in my life. I'm around them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I see what they do, and how they handle it, and you do not.
If I feel it's in their best interest to receive a spanking then they shall receive it and they will know why they got it too.
I've even given my children a choice, as to how many swats they receive, but they also know that if they get caught doing the same thing for which they got punished for that they will receive more swats.

There used to be a term called Tough Love. Sadly it seems that Tough Love has become impotent in this age where everyone else seems to know how to deal with my child.

I'm not saying that there isn't indeed gross measures out there that are by all rights considered to be abuse, but I'd rather people get up in arms about them more ardently instead of worrying whether or not my child is getting uncomfortable with hot sauce in their mouth, or a cold shower stinging some real consequence into them.

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Merhabi... to Wyveryx 2011/08/27 12:13:55

+1
Thank God, looks like the next generation might have some people who actually know right from wrong.

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Wyveryx to Merhabi... 2011/08/27 12:37:06

thanks, believe it or not, i was raised with a stern father, and he didn't spare the belt. Yet every time I got my swats, I knew what it was for and why. I also knew what was expected of me.
What amazes me here is that people seem to think that children growing into adolescence will behave rationally, or for that matter tolerate discipline later in life without having it been introduced to it earlier.

I highly recommend taking a look at a Book called Tough Love by Bill Milliken or the movie Toughlove (TV 1985).

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harry potter fan !!! 2011/08/27 04:51:45

well !!! I hate sauses especially the spicy ones so to me it would be an abuse !!! I guess !!! to some other kid it may look like walk at park !!! soooooo.......i guess I dont no the answer to this !!!!!

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ally 2011/08/27 04:35:17

+1
I felt very sorry for the little boy when I saw the footage. That said, its easy to make bad decisions in the heat of frustration and anger. Do I think what she did was right...no. Could she have come up with a more productive way of punishing her child...yes. There is a thin line between punishment and child abuse, but that line is different for everyone.

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Merhabi... to ally 2011/08/27 12:16:16

+1
Kids aren't supposed to like their punishment, they're bound to cry over it and there is no productive way to go about it. But i agree about the thin line between punishment and abuse, that is totally true.

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ally to Merhabi... 2011/08/27 13:06:15

+1
What I meant by "productive punishment" is teaching them right from wrong by suffering the natural consequences of their actions. If they were naughty at school, they might receive detention and at home maybe some of their privileges be removed. Superficial consequences only train, they don't teach. Training encourages proper behavior in specific situations. Whereas teaching encourages good decision making & growth by instilling an understanding of why some things are right and wrong. In my opinion the hot sauce incident would only impart fear and a deficit in character building.

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Merhabi... to ally 2011/08/30 19:27:48

Training my kids is the precursor to teaching them, when they're too young to understand proper behavior and why it's so, you have to train them. Watching my parents do their thing to me on video, and my three younger siblings who i got the chance to see grow up made me realize that they weren't being cruel (or they're really good at hiding it) but that the kids were too young to have it explained to them. When a kid is a little older then i can understand teaching them. But really hot sauce is a deficit in character building, you know whats really going on here? Your mind has been assaulted by the puppy dog pout of some adorable child, and of course under that influence how could you resist. Better men and women have fallen to the same technique.

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Wolfie 2011/08/26 23:21:04

+1
Child abuse to me. That could damage taste buds.

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Bob-oso 2011/08/26 22:55:57

A severe beating is much better than a little discomfort. Lesson learned, beat your kids instead of alternative punishments, and you won't be labeled a child abuser either. Yeah nothing like a good thrashing about the face and neck to keep kids in line, hot sauce could scar them for life and make them aggressive. And the "fine" of only $10,000 is not enough, it should be $20 billion minimum.

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cowboy 2011/08/26 22:13:53

+2
shove it up her ass see how she likes it ,an 8 year old child come on mum what u thinking

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THE WEASLEY TWINS ARE MINE!... 2011/08/26 22:01:10

+1
thats child abuse

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penny.kay1 2011/08/26 21:13:57

+4
"Pathetic" is a word that comes to mind when we have people in our society that think this is appropriate discipline.

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penny.kay1 to penny.kay1 2011/08/26 21:34:09

+2
After reading many of the other comments about this situation, I agree that some children may be able to injest hot sauce. However, I doubt that was the situation with this particular child and I am certain the mother knew it. So it's a matter of being reasonable and responsible.

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trismegistus 2011/08/26 20:24:28

+1
i remember some kid dying from having his mouth washed out with soap, not sure if this is that bad but bad enough...why wouldn't this be a problem but spanking your bad children is?

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cutter'... to trismeg... 2011/08/28 18:52:18

+1
I should have invested in Lava soap as a kid,
i'd be a evil rich person today
so would my 5 brothers

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trismeg... to cutter'... 2011/08/28 20:00:49

+1
Yea i hate missed oppurtunities

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cutter'... to trismeg... 2011/08/29 01:22:49

me to... me to

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Anna E 2011/08/26 20:23:37

I think it's ridiculous forcing kids to eat whatever stuff they don't like. Although, these days I suppose some kids would rather starve than eat healthy foods.

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Torchy to Anna E 2011/08/27 17:00:27

+1
These days, most adults would rather starve than eat healthy foods. :(

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Anna E to Torchy 2011/08/27 19:01:27

+1
Them, too. lol

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Sil 2011/08/26 19:42:18

+2
Abuse? Really? Okay, don't get me started on all this abuse thing. I was born alocholic, my baby sister was born addicted to crack, my middle sister, we don't even know what her real date of birth is. We were adopted to two different families. My sisters to one family and me to another. My sisters raised in a great home with loving, caring, and wonderful people, and was put into their adopted parents early. I was raised in an abusive family. Even though I was adopted at age 9, I continued to get abused. When I say abused, I was throwen threw walls, beat, as in punched-kicked. I was stapped in the chest. I had my arm sliced open. Got a knife thrown at me and stayed in my leg. Got cussed at when i didn't watch, feed, play, or put any of the younger kids to bed on time. Was told I had to be in bed at 9pm, even though I had to do all that plus a lot of normal parent responsiblities, like do all the laundry, dishes, and majorty of the yard work. After I put the kids to bed and I did all of these things, I had to do my homework, most of the time by flashlight. If hitting with the hand was not good enough sometimes it would be what ever was the closest thing. Until one day when I need to do two reports in HS my parents kicked me out of the house my JR in HS. I have ne...

Abuse? Really? Okay, don't get me started on all this abuse thing. I was born alocholic, my baby sister was born addicted to crack, my middle sister, we don't even know what her real date of birth is. We were adopted to two different families. My sisters to one family and me to another. My sisters raised in a great home with loving, caring, and wonderful people, and was put into their adopted parents early. I was raised in an abusive family. Even though I was adopted at age 9, I continued to get abused. When I say abused, I was throwen threw walls, beat, as in punched-kicked. I was stapped in the chest. I had my arm sliced open. Got a knife thrown at me and stayed in my leg. Got cussed at when i didn't watch, feed, play, or put any of the younger kids to bed on time. Was told I had to be in bed at 9pm, even though I had to do all that plus a lot of normal parent responsiblities, like do all the laundry, dishes, and majorty of the yard work. After I put the kids to bed and I did all of these things, I had to do my homework, most of the time by flashlight. If hitting with the hand was not good enough sometimes it would be what ever was the closest thing. Until one day when I need to do two reports in HS my parents kicked me out of the house my JR in HS. I have never moved back in. I talk to them only for my kids sake. I have forgiven them for it. Plus,I never killed them, killed anyone else, robbed a bank/store, never did any drugs (I drink every now and then, only because I enjoy a good beer, or a glass of Henesse :D), and I have only been married once, to one woman, going on 12 years. Have 2 great boys, and serve in the USArmy, and volunteer as offten as I can at different places. So, abuse, I say not. If my boys get out of line (in which they don't, because they know when Dad or Mom says, it goes) they know one of two things are going to happen. Depending on what it is, they get a slap across the butt, or they get sent to their rooms. If that was my wife that did that to my boys and they did the mouthing off and missbehaving, yea I would back her up. Snap, I would of used the hot sauce in my boys mouth if I knew it would work, but both my boys eat it more than I do. We go through a bottle a week. The shower thing, I did it to my oldest when he told me to shut up. As soon as I stood up from what we were having a dissagreement over, he knew he should not of said that. I picked him up and put him in the shower and told him to stand there until he was sorry and he was cooled off. He is 11. He has done that once, and has never done it since. My youngest is 9, he saw me do that to him, and was appoligonic toward my wife and I, he didn't even do anything. But, my boys know we are boss, and they respect us, not fear us So, is this abuse. I say no. So, do I abuse my kids too?
(more)

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cowboy to Sil 2011/08/26 22:21:00

YOU had a hard old time all right and no mistake ,i do hope its respect and not fear ,humans crulest animals on earth,i wish u and your other siblings all the best in life .

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Sil to cowboy 2011/08/27 03:59:02

+1
Thanks, Cowboy,but was not an easy life, but I have learned so much from it, and it has made me a stronger person.

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Autumn ... to Sil 2011/08/26 23:12:01

+2
It is unfortunate that you had to spend a childhood of abuse and neglect. I dont really see how your story had to compare with this child either. You dont know his background, or what hes been through. You dont know what he can or cant tolerate. When you see his terrified reaction on what she intends to do to him, Does that not strike a chord with you??
Can you mentally part your abuse and try to see what may or may not be happening to this child. Do you really think people who, as you put, beat their children and spouses are the only abusers? You have to take this whole picture into consideration. before making a judgement call on what you think is abuse. The point you missed Sir is that this child is terrified. Screaming and crying and his smug mother gets some sick enjoyment on watching him suffer. All the while shes almost yelling at him and scolding his behavior. You mentioned being in the army , when you get off the bus for boot camp did they not use tactics to break down your physical ,emotional/psychological guard. Would you consider this treatment ok for a child? I would surely hope not.
If only more people spoke up and out against circumstances many of us have witnessed or been a part of in our lifetime. As a victim I would hope that you would stand for the ones its not to late for.

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Sil to Autumn ... 2011/08/27 04:10:22

+1
Autumn, is it? Well there is a few things I probably left out of my story just like they did with this story too. I have ADD (same as ADHD, except I don't have the hyperness), so it made me lose consintration on things a lot faster. So, that is why my adopted parents did to me what they did. So, am I the victom or are they? Oh, one additional minor detail I almost forgot to menchen too in my story is that I almost died 4 to 5 times before I got kicked out of my parents house in my JR in HS. But, I'm not the victom, my parents are.

Additionally I would know the child was acting up, and was cussing at his mother, which is not right either, I never did that. It I don't know how much hot sauce was given to the child, but if it was like one or two drops, the child can handle that. If it was a 1/4 of the bottle or so, then that is over-kill. Putting the child in the shower to cool him off, i have had that done, plus all the other things If the kids desirves to be punished then punish him, but if he desirves to be rewarded he should be rewarded. Either way, it is due punishment, good or bad. But not to over due it.

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Wyveryx to Autumn ... 2011/08/27 05:00:43

+1
i watched the video, and though I think the shower punishment at that age isn't called for, I do not see abuse. You mention that he has a terrified reaction because he knows what's going to happen. Well I have to ask, what child isn't terrified knowing they are about to be punished?
Also, where is this mother's smuggness? I heard her voice, loud yes, but never once did it change into something that was villainous. She did't use obscenities. She explained why he was being punished and what she expected from him in the future. It's not like this was arbitrary treatment.
Almost every punishment, be it physical or emotional, as is cornering or solitary is a tactic, not designed to wear down you guard, but to teach you discipline and self correction.
You say not cast judgement on something that might be considered abuse, but you have labeled the mother as someone who take pleasure in this treatment, where's the impartiality there?
Also, this mother was seeking help, either because her son was out of control or she could not handle this with what she already knew or both. So again I highly doubt that this was abuse.

What's next though, if one can't use psychological or physical punishment, what are we left with? Putting them behind bars because we aren't allowed to punish / discipline them? Oh wait, that already happens.

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Sil to Wyveryx 2011/08/27 05:04:39

totally agree with you Wyveryx. It is just worse as he gets older. What if he did this when he was like 21 at a bar? what then?

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Wyveryx to Sil 2011/08/27 05:39:16

They would be shoved into jail and the parents would have been shunned for their "inability" to raise their child responsibly. Sounds like a double standard around here doesn't it?

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Sil to Wyveryx 2011/08/27 17:36:58

True, very true... u never know what happens to the parents after the kids says something like they were abused as a kid as they face life in prison because of murder or something like that.

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Beat Magnum True Hero 2011/08/26 19:24:59

+3
The real issue here that no one is discussing: There was a camera in the room! It wasn't enough for this mom to do this garbage in the privacy of her own home, she had to get the camera out and do this for all to watch (as well as the willing camera operator who went along with it). Even if you can argue that this is "tough love," the fact that it was filmed makes it suspect. Another cheap narcissist trying to get on reality TV and become "famous" at the cost of their children, nothing more.

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Wyveryx to Beat Ma... 2011/08/27 05:03:27

well considering where she was going to send it to I would hardly consider that narcissistic. She just probably thought that Dr.Phil was the most likely choice out there that could help her and her son. I'd much rather see someone trying to correct actions and to live a better life rather that someone have 8 kids and then profit.

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Carlo 2011/08/26 19:24:27

+2
Yes anything intended to involk pain and probably to thrill a mother like that would be. Although my mother did use tabasco to prevent me from sucking on my thumb as a kid. It worked.

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Diane 2011/08/26 19:20:19 (edited)

+3
I do not believe in negative reinforcement. When will we learn that discipline and negative are not synonyms?

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