I'm a mean mommy

[amysusi]

Nowee has been known to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night and swipe food (we usually find crumbs in his bed or leftovers in the closet). Today I made a huge batch of cookies, and the boys are not getting one. They pushed me too far by taking sooo long (all day) to clean up their messes. But I know Nowee will try to sneak some tonight. I usually keep them in a canister on the counter. There are some in there now, but they are sprinkled with DH's super hot spice. Nowee can take the heat (he's 4 1/2 and can eat the "man sauce" right along with daddy), but he won't be expecting it. Hopefully it will teach him a lesson.

I'm so mean. :rolleyes:

[MamaFairal]

Mean Mommy :)

[rlynn411]

WOW......that ought to teach him...but I have to say so glad your not my mom :) ....prefer my cookies with milk! :D

[pwright]

Cruel----I could never put hot sause on my stuff---my kids do not like the hot stuff!!!! :p

Don't be surprised if you get woke up in the middle of the night!!!! :eek:

Go ahead and have a big glass of water/drink/milk ready for him!!! :D

[ezmoney163]

Definately mean!! I could not imagine doing that to my children even if I was mad at them. Wy not just put them outta reach??

[silvermist]

hm I think I might be only one who doesn't see a problem with it lol He's doing something he shouldn't be doing and lotsa kids are obese because they "sneak" stuff and parents don't know about it. Not to mention he likes hot sauce? And just won't expect it in food? Although I don't think I could possibly ever have thought of that one up! lol I just wouldn't make them in first place lol cuz waste of some good cookies ;)

[queenangie]

Won't the children be afraid of what you fix them for breakfast/lunch/dinner too?

I don't know your specifics, but that truly is not my parenting style.

Children are quick to copy our behavior as adults, not just our words.
That is how children learn - from we adults and caregivers.

Won't you be wondering what will be the next soda or ice tea the children
bring for their loving mother?

What about if your children do the same thing with the hot sauce to the
baby next door or the family dog?

There is a case in Quincy, IL of a resident doctor sneaking ant killer into coffee & donuts of coworkers. He is in prison now.

I agree - put the cookie jar out of reach and away from the kids.

[EricsnKy]

You might as well edit or delete your post now because there is going to be people calling you a child abuser before long.

I see nothing wrong with it, but than again I don't have childern. I bet after tonight your lil one will think twice about sneaking food!


There is a HUGE difference between TOXIC ant killer and hot sauce/sprinkles! :rolleyes:

[Jolie Rouge]

hm I think I might be only one who doesn't see a problem with it lol He's doing something he shouldn't be doing and lotsa kids are obese because they "sneak" stuff and parents don't know about it. Not to mention he likes hot sauce? And just won't expect it in food? Although I don't think I could possibly ever have thought of that one up! lol I just wouldn't make them in first place lol cuz waste of some good cookies ;)

Well, I am with you, too.

If I tell my children *not* to do something - there is a reason for it. I do not always have the time to explain "why" - and they will find in llife, their teachers & bosses will not eigther. Better a little hot sauce on their tongue than a concussion from falling as they try to get that "out of reach" cookie jar ( been there, done that, have a hospital bill to show for it )

[Urban Cowgirl]

LOL Reminds me of some of my punishments when I was little!!! Hehe and yes I turned out just fine!

[DivineMsDi]

What I don't get is what is the problem you are addressing? Is your son sneaking food at night bothering you? If he is truly hungry in the middle of the night, then you need to provide him with more snacks in the day.

Why shock the kid with hot cookies because he's hungry?

Do you hear when he gets up and does this? Maybe it's just me, but I always have half an ear open and could never sleep through my son rifling through the cabinets or fridge. I'd wake up or my husband would.

Please don't use food to punish the children. It sounds like your son has some food issues already if he gets up and sneaks food. If your kids did not do what you expected in the day, then there are other methods.

I would never do what you did, but I don't live in your house and I don't know how hard your children are to control.

Please don't get offended. You asked for advice and even called yourself a "mean mommy." I'm just with the other ladies who say put the temptation away somewhere else.

[queenangie]

Amysusi,
I am praying for you and your family.
Being a parent is a thankless, difficult job.
May Jesus Bless you and your family to resolve concerns.
Hugs,
Angie

[freeby4me]

Oh my, I cannot believe some people on here LOL. I highly doubt he is sneaking the food because he is hungry, Its more of a "Trying to see how much he can get away with" and Hot Sauce on a cookie is not child abuse :rolleyes: If the kid eats the stuff with dad he can eat it on a cookie that he is Sneaking in the middle of the night!

So, When ya gonna let us know what happened??? :D

[Tasha405]

I have a 12 yr old who also sneaks food to his room and eats it. I'll go in to clean his room and make his bed and find all kinds of candy and cake wrappers. Its not that my child is hungry, he gets 3 good meals a day not counting all the snacks, its just that he wants all the junk for himself. LOL I'm not talking about 1 reese cup at a time, I'm talking about 5 whole reese cups at a time! He doesn't just sneak 1 of anything, its several or nothing. lol He just does it to see what he can get by with. I've tried everything but he keeps doing it. He is 12 yrs old so putting something out of his reach won't work since he's almost as tall as I am. lol

All I ask of my kids is that they eat a good meal before they set in with their snacks and my son feels like that rule applies to him. :rolleyes:

I personally have done not this but I see nothing wrong with what you done, I mean he likes the hot sauce anyway. This will just help him think twice about sneaking food again. ;)

[CAMSmama]

This will just help him think twice about sneaking food again. ;)


ITA!!! My 16 yr old also sneaks stuff quite often, I might just try the hot sauce thing too! I even resorted to a padlock on the pantry door for a while but he got a hold of hubby's set of keys and had one made for himself. Now the "GOOD" stuff as he calls it is hidden in my bedroom which he cannot get into.

[DivineMsDi]

Sorry to get back in this thread but I am adding a few things.

Let's face it, the child is 4 1/2 years old. Ami KNOWS he sneaks food. He is not a teenager, he is a little kid.

WHY is he doing this?

Maybe he is just greedy? Some kids are...some kids like food. My sister has four boys. Her second one is 8 and loves to eat. He also gets annoyed if he doesn't get "his fair share" and watches every bite other people take (so he gets his amount). She said he is a food sneaker, but she would never do what Ami did.

This is a four year old child you are talking about. Not a teenager.

I believe there are two issues--why does he need more food? And is he sneaking junk food? Is he denied junk food when bad? (as the mom in the OP stated).

Is he doing it as freeby4me says, "to get away with it?" If he wants to get away with it, he is trying to get "attention" for his bad behavior. ??

I still think spiking the cookies with hot sauce is wrong knowing full well the kid is going to sneak them. What is the lesson learned here??

Food should not be used as a reward or punishment. That's JMO..

[Wimzik]

I still think spiking the cookies with hot sauce is wrong knowing full well the kid is going to sneak them. What is the lesson learned here??

Food should not be used as a reward or punishment. That's JMO..


I agree. Do you often withhold food as a punishment? maybe that is why he sneaks it.

I am SHOCKED at how many of you in this thread think that it is okay to do this to a child.

[Urban Cowgirl]

I don't think that she withholds food as punishment....just junkfood. I see nothing wrong with that. Junkfood is not a nutrional requirement...its a treat. IMO you must deserve a treat to get one. Hubby would probably disagree with me since in his opinion dessert is just part of the meal.

[freeby4me]

Umm Yea OK, Now I see why so many children are overweight in America. Alot of people think its a crime to keep junkfood away from children!!! Allowing him to sneak the JUNK in the middle of the night over and over again is more Child abuse than putting some freaking hot sauce on a cookie. Come on people, Gimme a break! :rolleyes:

[amysusi]

I don't think he tried anything last night. DH gave him one of those cookies after dinner, and he ate it like it was normal to taste like that.

His brother found a handful of tums in his drawer while they were cleaning up yesterday, and I found a broken cabinet door in the kitchen. It's the one he uses to climb on the counter to get to the top of the fridge.

I'm not worried about obesity. My kids are very active, and they get enough to eat. He's just trying to see what he can get away with , because we don't keep much junk food inthe house. THere is a stain in his closet from spilled orange juice. I've found the baby chweing on stale bread she found in there. Once (and this is funny) I found 3 eggs in his underwear drawer. Uncooked and unbroken. I wonder what he was going to do with them. He takes stuff that would have been OK for him to have if he'd just asked. We have a gate blocking the kitchen, but he can open it, or he climbs over it.

I just thought I'd surprise him. They couldn't have tasted good. And since it didn't seem to bother him after dinner, I put some garlic powder on them before I went to bed. That's got to be a nasty tastin' cookie!

[freeby4me]

LOL!! Thats funny! I figured the cookie wouldnt bother him. Besides, I think the people on here with a problem with you doing it hasnt had kids that try and steal stuff when if they just asked, They could get it!

[amysusi]

I just talked to DH (he goes to work before I get up), and he told me he found Nowee sitting on the counter, cookie jar in hand at 3 am. Little stinker!!

[Tasha405]

I don't think that she withholds food as punishment....just junkfood. I see nothing wrong with that. Junkfood is not a nutrional requirement...its a treat. IMO you must deserve a treat to get one.
ITA!


DivineMsDi, I doubt her son is sneaking food because he's starving or anything like that. He's a kid who likes junk, as both of my boys are the same way. She put hot sauce on the cookie but she also stated that he eats hot sauce and it doesn't bother him. How is that going to harm him? My youngest son will also eat hot sauce with his daddy and he loves it. Most of the sauces are more sour than hot anyway.

Also I see nothing wrong with using junk food as a punishment/reward. I do it all the time. My kids will not fall over dead from not getting a snack cake or some other type of junk every day. (although they do act as if they would sometimes) LOL

[Tasha405]

Sorry but a child that is 4 years old should NOT be eatting tums. .He could get really sick eatting them especially if it's a few at a time.. He should NOT have access to medicines like that at his age.. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I'm assuming he climbs and gets them and thats what she is trying to break him from.

[freeby4me]

I'm assuming he climbs and gets them and thats what she is trying to break him from.

Agreed.
I have to ask one thing, Why are *most* people assuming the worst here?

[Tasha405]

Agreed.
I have to ask one thing, Why are *most* people assuming the worst here?
I have no idea. :confused: I see nothing wrong with what she did.

[ezmoney163]

Because it is a 4 year old child!! To me it is ignorant to do this to ANY person. Age young or old!!! You do not teach lessons with food. Come on everyone, wake up here, what happened was ignorant. What kind of parent does that. Just don't make the friggin cookies or put them away where he has no access to them. You guys who think it is ok must be cruel. It seems she just wants to do it to make her kid learn to clean his messes up quicker. Bull crap!!! This is a form of abuse. It would be similar to goingout with the same darn cookie and rubbing it in dog poo. There is absolutely no reason for an grow woman who is a mother to do this to her child. I nstead sit down with him and tell him no you may not have a cookie, if you would have listened to me you could have 2 cookies but since you didn't you will have none. Also I think 3 am and being in the cookies sounds like a problem, he must be hungary to get up in the middle of the night to have something to eat. I know at that time in the night if my kid was up eating cookies I would know they had not had eneough to eat during the day. Chrissy I agree about the Tums ~ aparently stuff like this needs to be put away in a safer place. Of course maybe he needs them if she puts that yucky hot stuff on his food though. :rolleyes: It has nothing to do with steal food if you read the thread it was she was punishing him for not picking up his mess fast enough. He is 4 give him a break. Gosh then to turn around after the fact and dumb garlic powder on it. I sure wouldn't want to exchange cookies with you!! JMHO
Oh by the way, I was talking to my aunt who happens to be a child advocate counselor, this is a form of abuse!! She told me about a lady who put pepper, tabasco, chilis, you name it on her sons food, well the lady got her kid taken away from her. The poor thing had blisteres on their tounge and could not eat anything so the school called CCYS!!

[Tasha405]

Ok, first of all I am not cruel in any way!

I see nothing wrong with what she done because she is trying to teach him a lesson. Its not right that he climbs all over the counters and cabinets to sneak food. Would you rather her do this or just sit back and do nothing while he falls and breaks his arms, legs, neck and back?

It was a silly joke to teach him to think twice about sneaking food in the middle of the night. She said that he climbs on everything and she has even found TUMS in his room, thats what she is trying to prevent from happening again. He's at the point to where he is taking anything and everything he can get his hands on and he thinks he can eat. I seriously believe its not a hunger issue at all. I have known several kids who climb to get things and if they see a cookie/snack jar, then of course they would climb for it too.

[Wimzik]

How is putting hotsauce and garlic powder on the cookies teaching him a lesson? She is not even addressing the real problem, she is just playing a mean joke on a little boy.

[ezmoney163]

I don't think Adults need to play "silly jokes" on 4 year olds. There is absolutely no humor in it. JMHO

[1tiredmom]

hey whatever it takes-but sometimes it backfires-i remember my mom was getting very angry becasue somebody was eating/sneaking whatever & not saying anything -when she would ask nobody owned up to it. one day after school i went to get some milk & saw some chocolate pudding-went & asked my mom if i could have some and she said yes-she forgot she made two batches one for dinner & one to catch to see who was sneaking sweets and desserts w/out asking. she didn't tell me where the other bowl was and i got the one that had tabasco in it-after that my three other sisters never sneak anymore--sister who was doing it(my mom knew who, was waiting for her to own up to it)

[Tasha405]

I'm guessing the TUMS were up in a cabinet or someting and he climbed and got them. (I can't speak for her but thats where I keep mine) I don't think she gives them to him to eat as candy or something.

She's teaching him that the food sneaking needs to stop because he's not always going to get what he's going for. What is a little bit of hot sauce and garlic going to do to him? I'm sure she probably uses garlic in other foods that he eats and she already said that he likes hot sauce. He also ate one of the cookies after supper and it didn't bother him. I just really don't see the problem. Its not like she put tons of super hot peppers in the cookies before she baked them.

[zitra]

Sorry but a child that is 4 years old should NOT be eatting tums. .He could get really sick eatting them especially if it's a few at a time.. He should NOT have access to medicines like that at his age.. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Have to agree with you there.

[Tasha405]

Let me ask this....

If my son eats food with my hubby that has hot sauce on it... does that mean we are abusing him?

So if you salt/pepper your food and then give it to your kids... would that be abuse too?

If someone disagrees with anyone on here then all hell breaks loose. We are simply stating our opinions too but yet because we disagree we get called cruel. This is just plain silly to me.

[zitra]

hey whatever it takes-but sometimes it backfires-i remember my mom was getting very angry becasue somebody was eating/sneaking whatever & not saying anything -when she would ask nobody owned up to it. one day after school i went to get some milk & saw some chocolate pudding-went & asked my mom if i could have some and she said yes-she forgot she made two batches one for dinner & one to catch to see who was sneaking sweets and desserts w/out asking. she didn't tell me where the other bowl was and i got the one that had tabasco in it-after that my three other sisters never sneak anymore--sister who was doing it(my mom knew who, was waiting for her to own up to it)

I have a friend's mom who did the same thing (but with exlax).

[1tiredmom]

this is totally unreal-imo--she didn't put her hands on him-just trying to let him know like another bbs'r said you just can't sneak/take without asking & if this is what it takes so be it---the way some of yall are taking this, yall would've hads a field day with this-dd when she was 7 years old & being very prissy & seeing how far she could push me-one morning i asked her what she wanted for breakfast she said cereal so i gave her frosted flakes-when she got to the table she started acting up about not "wanting that kind of cereal wanted another kind-told her eat that one since it was already made-she started with the mouth,refusing to eat it, pushing it away & spilling it -ticked me off told her if she didn't eat it she would wear it-kept it up& i took the bowl of cereal and poured it on her head--had to clean it up, take another bath, wash hair, and was late for school-- result she's 17 yrs old & as normal as any other 17 yr old (oh yeah might as really tick some of yall off there was one other time she wore a glass of orange juice)
when she got her hair cut sometime later at a salon-the lady was telling her how healthy & pretty her hair is & wanted to know what we did to her hair-she said bowl of cereal & a glass of oj-lady said whatever it takes -(guess it will be on my list of reasons not to get into heaven when st. peter starts reading

[zitra]

Though as I said in a previous post I don't think a child of that age should be able to get to the "tums" (since it's known he was able to reach it, it should be put elsewhere).

The cookie situation, the way I see it, is no different than getting the nasty tasting stuff on a child's thumb to break them of thumb sucking. She just used bad tasting stuff to break her child of taking sweets/snacks, when he shouldn't...
Also maybe he does it becuase he knows that durign the day his mom won't let him have "too many" sweets, so when everyone is sleeping he sneaks what he wants..I can honestly say I did the same thing as a child, and it wasn't from being hungry, it was becuase I liked chocolate, and ice cream!

Wanted to add that while I unerstand why the OP did what she did, I myslef would have just put the cookies/sweets away, where he couldn't get them.

[DivineMsDi]

For crying out loud! Shaking my head in absolute disbelief.

Teach any lesson you want and with hold snacks, but don't "foul" up cookies, leave them on the counter and see if your ds is going to go for it. That's like baiting the child to see his reaction. It seems like a cruel game!

Why would a mom want to do this to her kid? If you have control issues over his behavior, surely there are better methods. If you are annoyed he sneaks food, find a few locks and keep snacks out of his way.(he is only 4 not a teenager!) How about positive reinforcement?

Sorry I can't see any justification for this. And, I am not talking out of my butt. I'm a mom and former preschool teacher as well having a minor degree in psychology.

[ntgsmommy]

I agree with the op on one point that her son needs to stop stealing/sneaking the food, but to go to this extreme is just not right..when I was young my dad used to lock up food in his closet in his den, but we (my brother and sisters) still found the code to unlock it and ate the food...I think she is just mad at her son because he didn't clean his room fast enough and is using the food as a reward or treat. He will wind up obese....I'm sorry to say becasue I am. I feel this is one of the reasons, because we were denied the "good" food. I was once told that there is no good or bad food, it's how much of one thing you do consume, and NEVER NEVER use food as a reward.... Maybe her son isn't really having food problems, maybe he is a kleptomanic (there may be a different wording here I didn't mean to offend anyone, just don't know how else to say it) can this be tested in a child that young? I hope you resolve your issue with your son, personally though, I would never do it...it's also the same principal as putting hot sauce, hot cayenne peppers on a child's thumb to prevent them from sucking it....(had this done to me too) :( I also wanted to add, why do you make the cookies if you don't want the child eating them? Or buying them or whatever...out of sight out of mind..

[freeby4me]

Fine I have the perfect solution. Make the cookies and tell him "because you sneak food in the middle of the night you cannot have one single cookie and THROW THEM ALL AWAY. Throw them away right in front of him. That way he realizes that because of his actions he cannot have any cookies now either being good or bad.
Now, I would think that MOST OF YOU WOULD NOT THINK OF THAT AS A FORM OF CHILD ABUSE. Right?? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Sheesh, If she gives the child too many cookies, Its child abuse, If she doesnt give him cookies its child abuse. WHAT THE *** Will finally make you people happy??
GIMME A BREAK

[freeby4me]

She just said the child gets plenty of food to eat. Sheesh. :rolleyes: Like she starves the child to make him sneak food in the middle of the night so he'll get in trouble. GImme a break people!!!!!! That sounds more outragious than half of your people's arguements as to why it shouldnt be done.

Edited to say that Im completely done with this whole subject. You people would complain if she put a lock on the cookie jar, Gosh forbid she stop him from getting a cookie at 4 in the morning :rolleyes: :mad:

[Jolie Rouge]

If the cookie jar was on top of the fridge, and the child fell trying to get to it; it seems that some of you would scream "child abuse"

It seems that some of you think that the simple act of telling a child "NO" is tantamount to child abuse. :rolleyes:

It was not a punishment as much as it seemed to be a lesson in consequences - we all deal with them in Life. If you speed, you can be ticketed. If you steal, you can be arrested.

It is far more dangerous to try and "put things out of reach" -- children climb and when they do, they can fall and be hurt. It is impractical ( at best ) for a parent to stay awake all night to guard the kitchen. It is unreasonable to ban sweets from the household altogether. Even Christ said "ask and it shall be given" and that seems to be the lesson the OP seemed to trying to get across.

[ezmoney163]

If the cookie jar was on top of the fridge, and the child fell trying to get to it; it seems that some of you would scream "child abuse"

It seems that some of you think that the simple act of telling a child "NO" is tantamount to child abuse. :rolleyes:

It was not a punishment as much as it seemed to be a lesson in consequences - we all deal with them in Life. If you speed, you can be ticketed. If you steal, you can be arrested.

It is far more dangerous to try and "put things out of reach" -- children climb and when they do, they can fall and be hurt. It is impractical ( at best ) for a parent to stay awake all night to guard the kitchen. It is unreasonable to ban sweets from the household altogether. Even Christ said "ask and it shall be given" and that seems to be the lesson the OP seemed to trying to get across.



I think it is child abuse would you like to call CYS and ask them I am sure they will tell you the same thing. IT IS ABUSE!! Weather or not you agree with it or not. What she is doing to a "baby" is sick. Kinda like geez I don't wanna buy formula anymore so I will put hot stuff in it so the baby will not drink formula anymore. And lemme ask you this ~ So you sneak food because you are hungray so you have to suffer with hot mouth possible heartburn, a burned esophagus, diarrhea, and whatever else may go with it?? Using food to punish is wrong. Putting the cookies up or not making them is the answer here. Not burning the crap outta this little guys mouth!! Geez people wake up and be humane. I would hate to see how you treat your animals if you do this to your children.

[woleys]

Ok.......I wasn't going to say anything but I do agree that she shouldn't have done this. Also she should keep all medicine where he can not get it. Get something that locks if he climbs to get it. I mean what if he gets some other kind of medicine??? I mean that could KILL him. I am not judging anyone here just saying I would never do that to my kids and I would never leave any kind of medicine where my kids might be able to get it. JMO!

[DivineMsDi]

I agree with ezmoney163 & Chrissy13.

Anyone who knows a 4 year old knows if you say "don't do such and such" most likely he will do it. So you bait him with cookies tinged with hot sauce to make him learn his lesson. I don't get it.

Okay, he's not hungry. He wants cookies. He likes sweets. Mommy doesn't want him to sneak the forbidden sweets so she doctors up her homemade cookies with hot sauce and garlic powder, leaves them there for her nightcrawler to find, and waits for his reaction.

I might not be so upset if this was a teenager you were trying to "teach a lesson to" instead of a young child.
:rolleyes:

[suziebee20]

I would hate to see how you treat your animals if you do this to your children.

We bought this dog stuff for our couch that was supposed to make it taste kinda funky so our puppies would stop chewing on it... so sue me.

She said he can take the heat so it's not like she's giving him something that is so hot it will kill him. Besides, she's not force feeding him the entire cookie. She's simply discouraging him from sneaking snacks. If he takes a bite and gets a little taste "shock" then he can stop eating it. It's not like he has to eat the whole thing. I agree, it will (probably) teach him a lesson. Now if this child hated hot sauce and she did it, it wouldn't be right.

[Jolie Rouge]

Kinda like geez I don't wanna buy formula anymore so I will put hot stuff in it so the baby will not drink formula anymore.

Totally different situation. She doesn't want him to sneak out of bed, into the kitchen, climb on the counter, and steal cookies form the container at 3:00 am. He had cookies after dinner ( if you had read the posts ); so it is not that he can't have cookies EVER but only when appropriate.




And lemme ask you this ~ So you sneak food because you are hungray so you have to suffer with hot mouth possible heartburn, a burned esophagus, diarrhea, and whatever else may go with it?? Using food to punish is wrong. Putting the cookies up or not making them is the answer here. Not burning the crap outta this little guys mouth!!

She already stated he *likes* hot sauce on his food. In the Deep South, we put hot sauce on everything, so your dramatic rhetoric is hardly accurate.
Hot sauce does not equal "hot mouth possible heartburn, a burned esophagus, diarrhea ect" if it is something you enjoy and eat regularly.

If she had put anise on it, would you be having the same reaction ?



Geez people wake up and be humane. I would hate to see how you treat your animals if you do this to your children.

I pour ammonia on my trash can to keep raccons out, i put cotton balls with "fox scent" in the attic to drive off squirrels. I guess you'll have to call PETA. :rolleyes:

[Katt]

Well, it appears all civility has been lost in this thread. I believe it's time to put an end to it.

Consider it over, feel free to discuss something else.