Man charged with beating son over poor video game performance
by Justin McElroy 
{ Apr 21st 2009 at 1:09PM }
In sad news, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that police in East Price Hill, Ohio have charged Terry Taulbee, 50, with beating his six-year-old son for poor video game performance. Taulbee was accused of spanking the boy on his buttocks and lower back and leaving marks.Ironically, the game in question? Boong-Ga Boong-Ga.
[Update: Just so we're clear, that's a joke.]
[Via GamePolitics]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Duke @ Apr 21st 2009 1:11PM
Terry Taulbee you sir are an asshole.
Heimbachae @ Apr 21st 2009 2:16PM
i wish my father pushed me to my potential when i was a young boy like this man. we should be cheering this man on for he is creating a new super breed of uber stupid kid who only knows that if he doesn't get at least 25 head shots a game he's gonna get another kind of shot, in the face!!!!!
Latin_Trident @ Apr 21st 2009 3:26PM
@Saria
I reward my children with bubble gum and rose pedals.
mr mobius @ Apr 21st 2009 3:36PM
Supernanny has shown that competent parenting skills don't require spanking. It's just an easy escape route excuse for parents who can't do anything else.
I was never spanked when I was a kid, and I'm now at university, and have never been on the wrong side of the law and had to be reprimanded. The kids who are causing trouble aren't the kids whose parents don't spank them, but are the kids whose parents just don't really care, or at least that is my experience.
Doreo @ Apr 21st 2009 4:16PM
@ Mr. Mobius
I was spanked as a child, not many times; only when my parents deemed it necessary; yet I've grown up to be a good citizen! I don't drink or smoke, I've never been on the wrong side of the law, etc. I got offered a $20,000 scholarship to a university but decided to go to for a full ride at a community college, since I didn't want to put the financial strain on my parents.
All in all, it doesn't matter whether you get or not you've gotten spanked. It's all about other experiences that lead to how a person will turn out. I've taken psychology and no where in any of my books has it said that spanking led to children becoming bad seeds.
FNG @ Apr 21st 2009 4:17PM
I'm not buying this. This smells of B.S. I think something else is happening in the home and they are using games to blame/hide something here.
for the record, kids these days are so full of entitlement. my dad got out the belt when I was a little shithead.
CGamble20 @ Apr 21st 2009 5:07PM
Personally, I believe in stern discipline. Albeit not for poor video game performance.
Some are correct when they say getting spanked isn't ultimately determinant on whether a kid turns out to be "good" or "bad". However, its the dumbass parents who don't punish their kids or give the same shit excuse "they should express themselves" that don't deserve children. Its those children who don't work or end up as octo-moms (lol) ect.
And the real debate is not whether you should spank your child or not. Its whether spanking in and of itself is "abuse". I don't see it as abuse in most all cases, and those ass holes should mind their own business.
Again, what this parent did was ridiculous, but spanking is not wrong.
Ihavepants @ Apr 21st 2009 5:34PM
Why has no one mentioned that guy is pretty much fucking Rorschach, look at the bastard
Linkario @ Apr 21st 2009 9:40PM
@Mobius
I was spanked as a child and look at me, I'm kick ass.
Well, I'm off to smoke meth and bang hookers.
Grey Acumen @ Apr 22nd 2009 12:08AM
@ Saria Cat
What you're arguments all basically ignore is the difference between beating and spanking. When a child is developing, they need to know that their are limits to what they are, and are not. allowed to do, and that actions have consequences. Humans are not born with consideration for other people or with a grasp of acceptable societal behaviors.
Positive reinforcement(rewards) is indeed key to promoting acceptable behavior, and negative reinforcement(removing enjoyed objects/activities) can help with reducing unacceptable behavior, but the problem with both is that they require substantial time and willingness to cooperate on the part of the individual child, which certainly wasn't the case for me and many others. Spanking alone will indeed only establish that violence is what is used on someone who does something you don't like, but when only positive and negative reinforcement is used, then that teaches that as long as you don't have anything that you want to get, or don't want to lose, you can do anything you want.
Furthermore, these positive and negative reinforcements can only work if you have complete control over all rewards that can be given or taken away. If there is anyone else that can offer rewards or if there are enjoyable activities/objects that cannot be taken away, then you become completely impotent as a parenting figure.
More than just uncooperative children, there are often situations that need immediate feedback that an action is unacceptable in order to more clearly establish the connection between the unacceptable action and the consequence. While pain should not be the first recourse, it does tend to inspire better recollection as to the events which caused that paint. It is better to establish what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior BEFORE society is the one holding the person responsible for their actions and behavior.
To hold the opinion that the presence or absence of spankings is any indication of good parenting is not just erroneous, but insulting. Children are not simple lumps of clay that are molded or scarred by any action you take. They are much like plants that can only be nurtured; water it and give it light to help it grow, trim off dead sections to allow the living sections to flourish, and keep it from growing completely out of control and strangling the rest of the garden. They will find sustenance from whatever they are given. Provided love is at the base of it all, a child can be raised just fine under a wide variety of different and often rearing methods.
Grey Acumen @ Apr 22nd 2009 12:10AM
wtf, apparently I replied to the wrong section. I'm gonna try that again.
Rob Accomando @ Apr 21st 2009 1:11PM
spanking = beating? since when?
Cloud_ST @ Apr 21st 2009 1:14PM
Since we stopped being assholes (primitive),at least some of us..
Rob Accomando @ Apr 21st 2009 1:16PM
Yeah, I didn't read the lower back part.
Kizzle @ Apr 21st 2009 1:19PM
"Since we stopped being assholes (primitive),at least some of us."
Idiot. Go sniff a fucking flower. It's sad that disciplining your kid properly is seen as "barbaric" by some morons now. Don't procreate, we have enough out of control/respect nothing kids running around as it is.
B @ Apr 21st 2009 1:18PM
@Cloud_ST
Maybe if we started SPANKING (not beating) again and got the paddle back into schools our kids wouldn't be dumb, pompous, pretentious shitheads.
Markez @ Apr 21st 2009 1:22PM
Kizzle, that's a nice addition to an already embarrassing post history.
samn @ Apr 21st 2009 1:22PM
Okay, spanking your child for doing poorly in video game most certainly makes this guy an asshole. However, I don't recall spanking being classified as beating, unless it's because he left marks on the kid.
But another thing that bothers me, who in the hell lets their 6 year old play a game like Boong-Ga Boong-Ga? Sounds like this guy should have been locked up a long time ago... that's just gross.
Anticrawl @ Apr 21st 2009 1:23PM
@B
Agreed, some kids just can't be helped with words and sometimes parents just don't teach their kids to respect them early enough on. So spanking is perfectly acceptable. I was a bad kid, but my folks used a mix of fear/spankings and whipped my ass into shape. I'm glad they did it, because I started excelling in sports and graduated first in my class in highschool. I would have probably been a worthless dropout if not. They didn't even spank me often, they'd warn me when we are in public, count to three and start off with three licks with the belt, they'd tell me when we got home I'd get em. So I'd try my best to be good so they'd either forget or I wouldn't get any added on. They never hurt me though, no bruises, just good old fashion parenting haha. They also took game systems away when I was really bad, now THAT is fucked up dude.
NoughtSoClever @ Apr 21st 2009 1:23PM
I agree with Kizzle. Poor video game performance should be punished with corporal discipline.
The Baron @ Apr 21st 2009 1:27PM
The idea of my school and then the idea of hitting people to tell them not to do something naughty seem completely incompatible. I just can't imagine something civilised where punishment = pain.
Anticrawl @ Apr 21st 2009 1:29PM
And to clarify my comment I'm speaking in course of child dicipline. It is no acceptable to hit a child for any reason, especially not over a damn video game. Whippings/spankings are a perfectly acceptable method of punishment for a kid though, but it is the parents fault they didn't teach the child to respect them at a young age regardless (though I honestly think some kids just can't be taught with words, but are a rare bunch).
Cloud_ST @ Apr 21st 2009 1:30PM
Whatever,I believe you can raise a good kid without corporal punishment,not even the slightless,but probably thats just my opinion.
Batzarro @ Apr 21st 2009 1:31PM
@ Cloud: But on the other hand, if you get out of hand as an adult, they send you to rehabilitate by locking you away from society, where you will be sodomized and beaten constantly. I'd take a spanking over THAT any day. So, yeah, progress, lol, barbaric, lol.
Duke @ Apr 21st 2009 1:50PM
"It's sad that disciplining your kid properly is seen as "barbaric" by some morons now. "
Seriously, are you kidding here? He hit the kid for doing poor at a video game. What twisted world do you live in where that is proper discipline? In fact, what this guy did shows he's more than likely abusive as a whole. As would any father be who just beat his child for any reason he could think of.
Mike @ Apr 21st 2009 1:51PM
The only reason we're allowed to spank kids is that they are both physically and legally defenseless. My parents never raised a hand to me. I wasn't out of control. Violence is not necessary.
cuteSAVAGE @ Apr 21st 2009 1:56PM
I like how everyone here jumps to the occasion to criticize when someone comes out against violence in video games and its effect on children, and here we are amidst a mostly pro-corporal punishment discussion. It really puts things into a disturbing prospective.
Vincent060 @ Apr 21st 2009 1:57PM
@Batzarro: But almost all of the people in prison have most likely been spanked as a child. You can't tell me spanking a child will have no consequences down the road.
cuteSAVAGE @ Apr 21st 2009 1:58PM
Usually I let these slip, but *Perspective*
JWC @ Apr 21st 2009 2:07PM
If you're gonna comment on the right and wrong of spanking you need to state whether you have kids. I have a 6 yr old son who's well behaved, empathetic and kind. I've never spanked him as punishment. If you say you think spanking is an acceptable punishment then you need to also be able to say that 20 lashes would be an acceptable punishment for failing to salute. Spanking teaches children that violence is an acceptable way to change someone else's behavior -- hello wife-beater in 20 years.
This guy is a serious jerk and needs to be removed from his role as a parent and spend some time in jail.
JWC @ Apr 21st 2009 2:09PM
@B: You're a jerk. Have fun with parenting cause it's gonna suck for you.
DangerMouse @ Apr 21st 2009 2:10PM
The problem i see in corporal punishment is that it instills in children that respect is gained through force. While it may work on children to get them behave (or may not, whatever), free speech and the law we have to abide by as adults isn't set up that way. While I'm sure we'd all love to knock somebody out disrespecting us, it's not the always the right way to go about it. And children are a reflection of parents. If children are dumb, pompous, pretentious shitheads, chances are their parents are as well. If children can't behave in school, they need to be removed.
Latin_Trident @ Apr 21st 2009 2:16PM
I was actually beat as a kid and by all means it was child abuse. I love my pops though so no call to the cops. I did appreciate discipline when it was enforced properly (spanking on my butt, not across my face). We do need to discipline children a lot more but it should not be done excessively.
It is funny because I went to Old Sacramento this past weekend and there was an old elementary school there from like 1886 and it had the rules posted. Did you know that the boys were given 8 lashes for disrespecting girls? This is just one example. I believe that we had more educated and well disciplined people back than then we do today. Not only that, but they were more respectful. Now we have kids cussing out old ladies on public transit and doing whatever they want.
Discipline is the parent's responsibility and schools should discipline as well when necessary and with the child's parent's consent. Our government has tied the hands behind parents (except for those who ignore our retarded government and actually practice correct discipline by spanking) and the schools. We have to rely on our friendly and trustworthy police officers (*sarcasm) to arrest 6 year old kids and haul them to Juvenile Hall.
Seriously people, spanking won't kill a child. If you let him grow up without disciplining your child and he grows out of hand, the cops or somebody else will kill your child (hopefully not).
P.S. The guy up there is a nut. At least he didn't beat his son for getting caught by a ghost in pacman.
Bryan @ Apr 21st 2009 2:17PM
Beat your kids -- I am sure over half of us commenting were spanked or even beaten in our child hood. Look how we turned out! ... :(
Hyams @ Apr 21st 2009 2:19PM
I'm with Cloud_ST on this. Children don't need to be beaten, IMO.
WRE @ Apr 21st 2009 2:35PM
Spanking a child can be considered barbaric, but I find it barbaric when other people's kids throw a screaming fit in the middle of grocery store or tell their parents to shut up or watch American Idol. This is obviously a case where the father was in the wrong but that doesn't mean that there's never a time and a place for a butt-whipping. I'm sure all of us know parents that can't figure out why their child "just doesn't listen" but they refuse to discipline them in any way. Nobody's surprised when that kid grows up and impregnates his 13-year-old girlfriend or robs a convenience store or blows some dude for coke. Yeah, you're right, spanking is way worse than that.
Markez @ Apr 21st 2009 2:47PM
"blows some dude for coke" +1, lulz
That's certainly worse, agreed, but the pregnant, convenience store robbing, coke-sniffing 13 year old will always make for a more entertaining episode of Maury Povich.
ANNNND that was a lie! You ARE the father!
Jerk Face @ Apr 21st 2009 2:50PM
WRE's right. It's all about context. Kids need disciplined on a case by case basis. It's rare, but occasionally spanking is needed even for the best behaved kids. I have kids. I've spanked them before. I don't have to often, but it works when they've really done something out of line. Kids need to be at least a little afraid of their parents, otherwise scolding words mean nothing. Beating your kids is wrong, for sure. But spanking? Different.
But what do I know? I'm just a big Jerk Face.
Saria the Cat @ Apr 21st 2009 3:09PM
Actually, spanking has more negative developmental consequences than it has positive, so there is no reason people should turn to any form of physical abuse or punishment for children. There are plenty of developmental psych studies that support this. The most effective way to produce proper behavior in your children is actually positive reinforcement. That is, rewarding a child with something when they produce behavior you want, and withholding the reward when they produce behavior you don't want.
I'm all about authoritative parenting, but spanking provides no benefit and I do consider it abuse.
The Dark Wayne @ Apr 21st 2009 3:12PM
I dont beat my kids I just let the criminals do it.
aristokrat @ Apr 21st 2009 3:13PM
I think I got spanked twice as a child. But such a big deal was made of out the ordeal that it was a thing that I never wanted to have it happen again. If done correctly (creating apprehension, sense of disappointment, etc.), the actual physical part can be minimized. I think it's all about creating a very decisive consequence that is dreaded in future. There are very few consequences that you can teach young children about (hell, recent studies have shown that males still disregard consequences into their 20's as their brain continues to evolve), but the definitiveness of spanking is what makes it a useful tool.
Saria the Cat @ Apr 21st 2009 3:14PM
Of course it depends on context, but I have to say, if you're having trouble getting your kid to listen without you spanking them, then you're not doing a good job disciplining them. The mark of a better parent is one that can get their kid to behavior properly WITHOUT resorting to corporal punishment.
DBuck_Eye @ Apr 21st 2009 3:14PM
I think that if you need to lay a hand on a child, you've failed somewhere as a parent.
(Atticus Finch's philosophy).
Markez @ Apr 21st 2009 3:14PM
@ Darkwayne - are your kids like scrappy doo is to scooby doo? Like miniwaynes or something?
Otis Whitaker @ Apr 21st 2009 3:19PM
I disagree with spanking, because it instills fear, and the idea that "Violence will solve things".
Bleeding heart and all that? Sure. But I'd rather have a good moral kid, than a terrified obedient follower.
Saria the Cat @ Apr 21st 2009 3:21PM
@WRE: The problem is, children who are spanked are more likely to wind up doing those things you mentioned than children who are not spanked. There are ways to discipline your child without laying a hand on them.
Shagittarius @ Apr 21st 2009 3:31PM
Personally I feel greatly satisfied when the annoying kid at the super market gets smacked across the face.
I was considering printing up some T-shirts that say, "I don't mind if you beat your kids".
Quattro @ Apr 21st 2009 3:44PM
Saria, I would appreciate it if you would provide evidence when making general claims.
Manly Mcbeefigan (Mr. ESC) @ Apr 21st 2009 3:54PM
If more parents had beat their kids back in the 80's and the 90's the world would be a better place now.
Jay Voorhees @ Apr 21st 2009 4:17PM
Saria, yous a crazy bitch.
I was spanked as a kid and I'm all the better for it. I respect my father and the actual spankings i dont remember at all, I remember more how I tried to not dissapoint and screw up like i did.
Believe you me, grounding a kid or confining them to their room surrounded by videogames computers and cellphones doesnt teach the kid a damn thing.