OMAHA, Neb. -- A single mother said she is at her wits' end with her children's behavior, so she's making them hold signs at a busy intersection as punishment, reported television station KETV in Omaha.
Christina Wilcox and her children stood at an Omaha street corner on Thursday night. One son held a sign that said: "I'll never have a girlfriend. I can't respect my mom." Another son's sign proclaimed him a thief.
"They'll learn by embarrassment," Wilcox said. "They'll learn. I've tried grounding them and disciplining them in every form and way, and this the only way I can get through to them."
Mason, 7, is being punished for stealing.
"He's starting down the wrong road of thieving and then lying about it," Wilcox said. "He's thieved from a couple of friends, from a store, and I just don't want it to proceed."
Wilcox said that 5-year-old Elizabeth is following in her big brothers' footsteps, so she held a sign, too.
"They're not going to want to do it again, so there will be no more lying and no more thieving," Wilcox said.
Some drivers honked and gave Wilcox the thumbs up. Others shouted profanities. Wilcox said that everyone has a right to their own opinion, but she said she didn't know what else to do.
"I'm a single mom of three. I work full time, so time outs and everything else don't always work," she said.
Dustin Wilcox said he's not fazed by the punishment, but he said it does get him thinking.
"It really doesn't bother me standing out here doing this," Dustin said. "I've been trying to work on being more respectful, not yelling at my mom and not arguing with her."
The children held the signs for about and hour and 45 minutes. Wilcox said it was the last time they would hold the signs, and she thinks they got the message.
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