AKRON, Ohio — An Akron boy is being punished by his mother after some bad behavior in school and stealing from his own family.
His mom, who we’ll call “Melissa,” says her 12-year-old was a good child, but this past year has been mostly bad news.
“Stabbing a hole in the seat of the bus, putting his hands around a kid’s throat on the bus. Things come up missing. Back talking. And now there’s the stealing,” said Melissa, describing her sons recent actions.
And that’s not all. The reason he’s not in school right now is that he’s serving a two-day suspension.
“He’s suspended for tossing a desk in the classroom — I believe at the teacher. And so I’m just trying to work with (him) the way I can,” she said.
For his two-day suspension, her son has been spending the school day standing at the corner of Manchester Road and Robinson Avenue holding a sign that reads “I am a thief. Stole nearly $300 in merchandise.”
“Originally it was to embarrass him. Because it’s really embarrassing as a mother to have a child that’s out stealing and doing bad things,” Melissa said.
While serving out his punishment. A number of people walked up to the boy to offer advice.
“I told him it ain’t worth it. It’s just not worth stealing,” said one passerby who also donated $5 to help the boy pay off his debt.
When asked about how he felt standing out on the street corner, he said, “Embarrassing. This is where my family lives. It’s not a good thing. Not a good feeling.”
He also offered up an apology to the people who were victims of his actions.
“I stole from my parents, and it wasn’t a good thing. I completely regret that. I shouldn’t have done it. (My mom) does all these things to me, but I do this back to her. It’s wrong,” he said. “I just want to tell all my family that I’m sorry for what I did. It’s just a complete disgrace to my family and to me.”
His mom believes this punishment was the best way to get him to understand his wrongdoings and correct the bad behavior.
“There’s no way to really get him in line. I’ve tried really hard to raise him to be respectful, good and honest. And it embarrasses me. So right now, he gets to be embarrassed,” she said.
Is it working? Melissa says yes, and her son agrees.
“It’s stuff that I would never do again,” he said.