Blimey, I've been posting alot recently. Anyway, earlier today my seven year old brother wouldn't eat his dinner, so my dad forced him to by stuffing into his mouth and holding it closed until he ate it. He choked on it a couple times but my dad didn't care. He said that out loud too. Is this going too far? I'm not sure because parents are allowed to punish their children but to what extent? Opinions plz.
Yes, a line was crossed, you should never physically force things. Your brother will hate your dad for this and for good reason.
A line has been crossed. Your brother will probably hate your dad for doing that. Hope it does'nt turn out like that.
Having him sit at the table until he ate a little bit I can understand. Force feeding him until he chokes? Unacceptable.
Certainly a line has been crossed, but I disagree with the other commenters that your brother will hate your father as a result. I don't know how old he is, but certainly young and probably under ten? Your father has shown - admittedly in a bad way - who is the boss, who is in control. If people don't do as he says, he will take action. This will either foster respect or fear, but either way it is likely that your brother will eat up next time. The problem arises if your father takes it further and uses force, moving on toward violence, to achieve his aims or desires. The one line which should never be crossed is that where someone is hit; that is one too far. Perhaps, as the older sibling, you ought to take your younger brother in hand and, when he starts getting anti, before your father makes a single comment, get him to eat. This cuts out the possibility of a furtherance to force and would bind you to your brother as a form of protector.
Yes, the line has been crossed. Forcing a child to eat (and to that extreme) may create an eating disorder later in their life, and parents don't always realize that.
Hater shield up... Was your dad already angry? Had your dad repeatedly asked him to eat? Is your dad normally a kind person? Was your bro being a handful? I assume since you're asking this question that it's the first time something like this has happen in your house? Your bro probably got a little fright, but he'll be okay. What your dad did was not okay, at all, but circumstances always gives context and clears things up
Yes, it is simply dangerous to do something like that to a child. The food might accidentally enters the wrong pipe. Wouldn't suggest doing that at all, in any circumstance.
That is definitely crossing a line. It's no longer just punishment, especially towards a young child.
There is no excuse for this behavior. In most western jurisdictions it is actually a criminal offense. Endangering child's health or intentionally producing pain as a punishment is always morally wrong. It's OK to restrain a out of control child but that should be used as a temporary measure only until the child calms down. Basically the same rules with punishment that apply to adults apply to children with only minor adjustments.
