Hotsaucing is a controversial form of punishment where hot sauce is placed on a child’s tongue for bad behavior. It is viewed as child abuse by many psychologists and is illegal in some areas. The practice can cause painful heat, swelling, and suffocation. Some parents view it as a last resort, while others believe it is a more humane form of physical punishment than spanking.
Hotsaucing is a controversial method of correcting behavior in children. Similar to washing out a child’s mouth with soap, the practice involves placing hot sauce on a child’s tongue as punishment for bad behavior. While some parents practice the method as a last resort, many child psychologists view it as a form of child abuse. In some areas of the United States, the law recognizes hotsaucing as a form of child abuse and is illegal.
The practice is thought to have originated in the southern part of the United States. Parents use varying amounts of hot sauce on a child’s tongue as punishment for any misbehavior they deem worthy of punishment. Many types of hot sauce contain capsaicin, the chemical that adds heat and spice to the sauce. In young children, applying hot sauce and this substance to the tongue can not only cause painful heat but also swelling of the tongue, which can make it difficult for the child to breathe. In some cases, it has even caused children to suffocate.
A divide between the two sides of the hotsaucing issue is clear. Some individuals believe it is cruel corporal punishment inflicted on children. Alternatively, many parents who hotsauce say it’s only used as a last resort; when other punishments like time out or removing a child’s favorite toy fail, hotsaucing is a mildly painful alternative that works, they say. Parents who use the method also say it only takes a few times before the threat is enough to correct the behavior.
Typically, hotsaucing involves just a single drop of the substance on the child’s tongue. Parallels have been drawn between this practice and other discipline methods where physical pain or discomfort is the main deterrent. Child psychologists usually put this practice in the same category as spanking and washing out a child’s mouth with soap; some comparisons have been made that for a child it is as bad as being hit with a belt or other object.
Some feel it is especially appropriate for speech-related offenses such as name calling or profanity, as it punishes the part of the child responsible for the bad behavior. Arguments have been made that it is a more humane form of physical punishment than spanking and does not send the mixed message that while it is not okay for children to hit each other, it is okay for parents too. In some cases, parents use the same principle with a different liquid, from lemon juice to vinegar.
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