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Is excessive exercise abuse?

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commentator

Senior Member
Well, from the sound of it, the person has had some conversation with the children's other parent about this type of punishment, and been told that they can "hurt themselves." If this is the case, it sounds a lot more serious. Also sounds as if the other parent is concerned about whether or not they are allowed to physically punish the children and they would like to. That, added up, sounds like something that might be rated worthy of a protective services complaint. But I believe this would require more investigation, conversation, verification. Are the children actually being mistreated in any other ways?

My question is, without physical punishment, how do you FORCE the children to run until they're hurting badly? How much and what kind of pressure is being put on them to complete these exhausting runs? Three children of this age and this all close in age is a pretty big package of excess energy. I used to force my children and their friends to run around the track or neighborhood for a while before they came over to my house, in the name of "exercise" or training for sports. I sometimes ran with them, but really it was to burn off a lot of their energy before they settled in.
 
How often have the children been punished like this?
The reason I ask is if it's been more than once, they are either slow learners or it's not as bad as you claim.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
How often have the children been punished like this?
The reason I ask is if it's been more than once, they are either slow learners or it's not as bad as you claim.
You cannot say that. An abuser or someone who is close to the edge of abuse, comes up with more and more reasons to "punish" someone.
 
You cannot say that. An abuser or someone who is close to the edge of abuse, comes up with more and more reasons to "punish" someone.
That's true.
I was only going on my life experience that when I got a clip round the ear for doing something wrong I rarely, if ever, did it again.
 

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
There was a mother (or it might have been a grandmother) that was in the news a couple of years back. She was convicted of aggravated child abuse because her child (or grandchild) actually died from her using excessive exercise as punishment.

Here is one article about the case:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/12/grandma-who-ran-nine-year-old-to-death-for-lie-about-candy-dies-in-prison

If I were the other parent of these children I would file emergency orders in court to get the judge to order the other parent to stop, and I would cite this case as the reason why.

Here is another one:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/11/the-fate-of-the-grandmother-who-ran-her-granddaughter-to-death/

Grandma was sentenced to life in prison over this. It looks like there are a lot of other articles on the case as well.
This happened in Alabama. The father had custody, but the grandmother is the one who had the girl run the yard until she collapsed. From what I remember of the case, the mother really should have not lost custody, but the father had an attorney and the mother did not.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
This happened in Alabama. The father had custody, but the grandmother is the one who had the girl run the yard until she collapsed. From what I remember of the case, the mother really should have not lost custody, but the father had an attorney and the mother did not.
I am quite sure that the grandmother had no idea that making the child run like that could actually kill the child. Just like the parent doing it in this thread probably has no idea either. It just really disturbs me and even more so because the parent said "I can't hurt them, but they can hurt themselves".
 

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
I am quite sure that the grandmother had no idea that making the child run like that could actually kill the child. Just like the parent doing it in this thread probably has no idea either. It just really disturbs me and even more so because the parent said "I can't hurt them, but they can hurt themselves".
Go read this link https://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/2015/03/what_happened_in_the_yard_to_s.html . Grandmother was going above and beyond to torture this child.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
I am quite sure that the grandmother had no idea that making the child run like that could actually kill the child. Just like the parent doing it in this thread probably has no idea either. It just really disturbs me and even more so because the parent said "I can't hurt them, but they can hurt themselves".
Nope. You are presuming based upon your own biases. She didn't care it could hurt or kill the child.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member

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