Miami Herald Logo

Will threat of video make us better parents? | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Latest News

Will threat of video make us better parents?

Mama Sass

    ORDER REPRINT →

November 22, 2011 06:30 AM

Have you ever said or done something to your kids that you later regretted?

Let's be real. In the heat of the moment – when you've been pushed too far after a long day, when you're tired of repeating yourself over and over and over again, when the sass back hits you in just the wrong spot at the wrong time – many of us have lashed out, either verbally or physically.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Would you act differently if you knew you were being video taped? And that millions of people might be watching you on YouTube?

Texas family law judge William Adams is rethinking the lashing he gave his 16-year-old daughter seven years ago after more than 6.4 million people watched the disturbing video she secretly recorded and uploaded to the Internet. Adams, who presides over child abuse cases, is being investigated by the state's judicial conduct commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, while some child advocates shocked by the video are calling for his firing.

His daughter, Hillary Adams, now 23, posted the eight-minute clip on YouTube in late October. The video shows her father cursing and viciously beating her with a belt, trying to force her to bend over her bed to be beaten despite her wails and pleas to stop. At one point, her mother joins in and tells her to "take it like a woman."



The daughter's crime? Illegally downloading games and music from the Internet.



Like many people from my generation, I suffered my share of childhood spankings. I grew up in a very strict household. Yet this video brought tears to my eyes. This was no slap or two on the backside. It's an agonizing eight minutes that starts to feel like mental and physical torture after awhile. The dad's rantings about evil computers make the episode seem even more Draconian.



Is the video a daughter's delayed revenge on an overly strict father? Or the out-of-context result of a father furious at a daughter defying his orders and the law?



Regardless of how you feel about parents using corporal punishment , the real issue here is whether fewer moms or dads would resort to it – or screaming or abusive behavior – if they thought their kids might be filming them.

Few of us (hopefully) get as out of control as Judge Adams, but next time you're about to flip out on your child, you may want to ask yourself: What would 5 million YouTube viewers think?

  Comments  

Videos

Honduran Immigrant Reina Gomez Ramírez, who has a rare blood disorder, can stay in the U.S. for one more year

Miami brothers sell some of the most expensive homes in the world

View More Video

Trending Stories

Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules

February 21, 2019 02:51 PM

Americans arrested in Haiti with arsenal of guns won’t face U.S. charges

February 21, 2019 04:06 PM

These players Miami Dolphins are discussing in team’s plans. These they’re not, probably aren’t

February 21, 2019 03:08 PM

He quit the NFL to save lives. Now this former FSU star is accused of sexual harassment

February 20, 2019 12:04 PM

Kyler Murray available to Miami at No. 13 overall would be great for multiple reasons

February 20, 2019 12:34 AM

Read Next

Miami-Dade spent $80 million on transit studies. Now obsolete, they’re being redone

Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade spent $80 million on transit studies. Now obsolete, they’re being redone

By Douglas Hanks

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 22, 2019 08:12 AM

Miami-Dade is awaiting transit studies on six commuting corridors. The county has already spent $80 million on the routes, but those studies are obsolete.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Miami Beach 8th-grader ‘began to act crazy’ before falling to his death. What happened?

Miami Beach

Miami Beach 8th-grader ‘began to act crazy’ before falling to his death. What happened?

February 22, 2019 09:00 AM
She won’t stop stalking her ex even while cops are present, police say

Florida Keys

She won’t stop stalking her ex even while cops are present, police say

February 22, 2019 08:34 AM
This plan for a greener Wynwood could mean broad new sidewalks, shade trees and plantings.

Midtown

This plan for a greener Wynwood could mean broad new sidewalks, shade trees and plantings.

February 22, 2019 08:13 AM
These area teams opened the regional round of the FHSAA boys’ basketball tournament with wins

High School Sports

These area teams opened the regional round of the FHSAA boys’ basketball tournament with wins

February 22, 2019 08:11 AM

Venezuela

Keeping up momentum in Venezuela hinges on getting humanitarian aid in on Saturday

February 22, 2019 07:00 AM
As you age, so do the valves around your heart. New treatments are much less invasive

Health & Fitness

As you age, so do the valves around your heart. New treatments are much less invasive

February 22, 2019 07:45 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story