Russell Fredrick, a barber in suburban Snellville, Atlanta, is drawing attention for a creative punishment technique in offering parents free old man haircuts for misbehaving kids.
Fredrick, who owns A-1 Kutz, calls the cut the “Benjamin Button Special,” which involves shaving a boy’s head to look like a balding man.
The 34-year-old father said he first tried out the cut on his 12-year-old son, whose
grades “dramatically skyrocketed,” The Washington Post said.
He drew attention when he posted photos of the cut on Instagram.
“I hope that most people won’t have to do this unless it’s an extreme circumstances and nothing else is working,” Fredrick told the Post. “First, you talk or implement your restrictions. But when the conventional ways don’t work these days, you have to get creative.”
The novel discipline idea has gotten widespread attention and a range of responses.
Clinical social workers Wanda Wheeler and Douglas Gotel cautioned against using shame and humiliation as a form of discipline, saying it could erode a child’s self-esteem and have lasting effects, the Post said.
Reactions on Twitter were mixed.
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