What is Hot Saucing?
Hot saucing or --a.k.a "Hot Tongues is a controversial technique that some parents use in order to discipline their children usually when they misbehavior is related to the use of their mouth: talking back to adults, lying, biting someone, swearing, spitting, refusing to eat, or saying an offensive word. The parent will place hot sauce directly on the child's tongue or force the child to eat something that is saturated with the hot sauce.
According to the Washington Post, it has roots in Southern culture, according to some advocates of the controversial disciplinary method, but it has spread throughout the country. Nobody keeps track of how many parents do it, but most experts...including pediatricians, psychologists and child welfare professionals, are familiar with it."
According to the Washington Post, it has roots in Southern culture, according to some advocates of the controversial disciplinary method, but it has spread throughout the country. Nobody keeps track of how many parents do it, but most experts...including pediatricians, psychologists and child welfare professionals, are familiar with it."
Medical services have discovered an increase of children needing treatment for burns in the mouth, esophagus and stomach. Many children experience swollen tongues. This could create a potential choking hazard. Others can experience significant burns and damage to developing tissue in the mouth, esophagus, intestinal wall, stomach and colon.
Remember the case of Jessica Beagley, the Alaska mom who used "hot saucing" on her adopted Russian son for lying about getting in trouble in school was convicted last month of misdemeanor child abuse. She was given three years of probation, a 180-day suspended jail sentence and a $2,500 fine — also suspended.
Maybe you wondered as I did who and why was this incident recorded. Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin said it all was a ploy to get on the "Dr. Phil" TV show. Beagley's lawyer argued the hot saucing incident was merely a demonstration to show traditional discipline methods didn't work for the severity of her son’s behavioral problems. She eventually went on the show because she was desperate to find help for her son.
The prosecution argued that Beagley used these overly harsh punishments—including forcing the child to stand in a cold shower—as one of her repeated attempts to get on Dr. Phil's TV show. She contacted the show after viewing a segment called "Angry Moms," and submitted a video of her yelling at her child—but the show reportedly said they needed to see her actually punishing her child to be on TV. Beagley got the video camera ready, she made sure there was enough hot sauce on the shelf in the bathroom. She recruited her 10 year-old daughter to shoot the video and days later, she was headed to Los Angeles to tape the show that first aired on Nov. 17, 2010, Franklin reported.
When the videotape ended, mouths hung open and many audience members wiped away tears. Dr. Phil expressed his repugnance of Beagley's actions. He stated, “I need to say this and be very clear. We didn’t shoot that tape. If I had a camera crew in your home shooting that, and they didn’t intervene and stop it, there would be something seriously wrong with my camera crew. I think anybody would look at that and say that that is absolutely outrageous, it is over the top, it is abusive, it is inefficient, it is out of control.” Once aired, Anchorage police were flooded with calls from viewers reporting the incident and her legal troubles began.
If you haven't seen the video check it out below.
Here's a video of those who believe in this practice in debate with those who oppose it. How do you feel? Is it child abuse?
