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Home / Lifestyle

Is it okay to discipline other people's kids?

Herald online
20 Sep, 2016 02:30 AM3 mins to read

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The problem with disciplining someone else's child is that you don't know their story, says parenting blogger Constance Hall. Photo / Getty

The problem with disciplining someone else's child is that you don't know their story, says parenting blogger Constance Hall. Photo / Getty

With her controversial views and no-holds barred approach to talking about her life, Perth-based mummy blogger Constance Hall has penned a new blog post called "When To Step In", and is sharing her views on how and whether to discipline other people's children.

Although she admits she doesn't like telling kids off, confessing she has a "soft spot for the naughty ones", Constance argues that there is not a "cut and dry answer."

"My main gripe with disciplining kids who aren't yours is that you don't know their story," she writes.

The blogger explains her position with two contradictory stories from her own experiences with her children.

Constance Hall has shared her thoughts on stepping in to tell off someone else's kid. Photo / Instagram
Constance Hall has shared her thoughts on stepping in to tell off someone else's kid. Photo / Instagram
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In the first situation, Constance was visiting a playground with her son and his friend where she could see "a little girl, who couldn't have been older than 4 demolishing the playground. She was kicking kids off the slides and charging around the platforms like some sort of lord."

Although able to see the funny side, things started to take a turn when the little girl threw sand in her son's eyes, and then slapped his friend.

Being unable to locate her parents, Hall spoke sweetly to the little girl, who agreed to let the boys play too.

"The boys were happy and I felt like negotiator of the year," she writes.

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However, in another scenario, the mummy blogger found herself in the reverse situation.

Hall had noticed her daughter Billie-Violet was upset at the loss of her grandfather. So they went to the park for a bike ride. While there, a toddler fell in to the path of her daughter's bike.

Billie-Violet was shouted at by the toddler's father: "You're a stupid little girl, you shouldn't be riding around here!"

Constance felt enraged.

"My blood boiled. Fierce warrior mum kicked in. I gave him a mouthful about yelling at kids you don't know," she wrote.

Constance ends the post by saying she would rather leave the disciplining to other people's parents.

"Going to extreme measures to sort it out with the kids' parents before even thinking of approaching the kid is the only way," she says.

But her verdict seems to have left followers divided.

One person wrote: "This can be such a struggle. But I ditto what you said."

Another person added: "At the end of they day we all have our own way of disciplining our children and we should all respect each other's way!"

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