Parents Force Girl To Hold Sign As Punishment: 13-Year-Old Girl Shamed In Public

Parents force girl to hold sign: A 13 year old girl was forced by her parents to hold up a sign at a Florida intersection for about 90 minutes in March.

The sign the girl was forced to hold read, "I'm a self-entitled teenager w/no respect for authority. I'm also super smart, yet I have 3 'Ds' because I DON'T CARE."

Years earlier, a Christian friend had given them the idea, the parents say. When their daughter was allegedly losing interest in school, getting bad grades, being disrespectful to adults, and generally "acting out", they decided to take action. Some would call the child's actions cited par for the course of being a thirteen year old girl, but the Florida parents apparently decided that public shaming would certainly help her become more docile and apt to follow their guidance.

Other drivers took photos and uploaded them to Facebook and other social networking sites. Police were called to the scene; they left, citing a lack of immediate danger.

Some area calling the act "tough love," but others thought they went too far. Many cited a possible blow to the girl's self esteem.

A factor that has emerged in the story is that the girl's uncle was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. The two were very close, and she became depressed after he died, exibiting subsequent behavior changes.

The mother issued the following statement:

"I wasn't even thinking about what the public was going to think. I was thinking about our daughter. It was for her to be in the public and recognize what she had done wrong. We spend so much focus on not wanting to hurt a child's self esteem that we don't do anything. Walk a mile in someone's shoes. We must undo at home what the world tries to tell her is better."