Florida couple forces child to eat soap
Child abuse or discipline?

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It was in a house off Shenandoah Drive in Palm Bay, in which investigators say a little girl was punished. According to Palm Bay Police , the mother's boyfriend, Wilfredo Rivera, made her chew on soap for ten minutes, while the child's mother, Adriyanna Herdener, watched.

"I think people need to educate themselves more about using an object or foreign substance in a child's body. Whether it's soap or hot sauce. You just never know how somebody's going to react," said neighbor Christina Chiarilla, who works in child care.

Investigators say the child was crying, vomiting and foaming at the mouth. According to police, the boyfriend wouldn't let the girl rinse out her mouth until she cleaned up her mess.

Reports state the child's lips, throat and tongue became swollen and was in pain. That's when the mom asked her boyfriend to take the 8 year old to the hospital.

Police say Herdener didn't go to the hospital because, she didn't want to deal with the Department of Children and Families. But when DCF was called to the hospital, they say Rivera left with the child even before she was treated. Both were later arrested at her home. According to the DCF, the couple has a lengthy history of complaints.

Chiarilla says it's a shame. "Parents make mistakes. They don't know everything. Their mistake wasn't necessarily that they gave her the soap, it was the reaction to what happen."

And now the mother and her boyfriend face punishment for their actions. They were more concerned about themselves. To me that's a selfish reaction," adds Chiarilla.

Both Herdener and Rivera bonded out of jail. They did not want to comment.

________________________________________________

While I certainly do agree that children need discipline and some kids today are just out of control, I think these people went way too far. No child deserves to be hurt or made physically ill like that. Also, why was the mother even allowing the boyfriend to do that to her daughter? If my hypothetical boyfriend punished my hypothetical children like that, HE would be the one in the hospital! :mad: Where is the little girl's father?

This particular situation it is abuse.

I'm also against the "washing mouth out with soap" method. Children should not be made to have these chemicals (soap) in their mouths for punishment. It's poisionous.

Seems kind of stupid, to me, to teach your kids to keep these things out of your mouth growing up and then to punish them with it.

I agree, James. i also don't understand how you can teach your child not to hit, only to spank them when they do something wrong. My parents very rarely spanked my sister and me when we were little. Instead, they used time-outs, loss of priviledges, and extra chores to discipline us. We didn't turn out spoiled rotten or bad.

I voted that it depends on the situation and how it is used. THIS situation was abuse in my opinion. They forced her to chew it and didn't remove the soap when she had a terrible physical reaction to it. When I was a kid my mom used to put soap in our mouths if we said bad words. She would wet the bar of soap, stick it in our mouths for about 1 minute and then remove it and let us rinse our mouths. While I do not use that as punishment for my own kids, I don't think it was abusive.

I agree, James. i also don't understand how you can teach your child not to hit, only to spank them when they do something wrong. My parents very rarely spanked my sister and me when we were little. Instead, they used time-outs, loss of priviledges, and extra chores to discipline us. We didn't turn out spoiled rotten or bad.

I also wanted to add that at least use something that is not a hazardous chemical. I might not agree with it but if you want to punish by giving a bad taste in the mouth you should use something that's not a poisonous chemical.

I had a friend on my block years ago whose mom was against soap in the mouth so instead she squirted mustard in his mouth when she felt it was required to be used.

There are plenty of food products that have a foul taste but soaps and detergents are not meant to go in the mouth.

^ Can't argue with that :) I knew of a teacher years ago who would spray vinegar into a child's mouth if they bit another kid. Worked like a charm. Not that I ever needed it! :lol:

^ Can't argue with that :) I knew of a teacher years ago who would spray vinegar into a child's mouth if they bit another kid. Worked like a charm. Not that I ever needed it! :lol:

That happens today = Lawsuit.

No question about it, This is child abuse.

Soap should only be eaten to counteract the effects of radioactive vegetables.

I think they went too far in this case.

Soap should only be eaten to counteract the effects of radioactive vegetables.

Nice Gilligan's Island reference there!:D


About the parents, yeah, they took it a little too far. But I am not against a little soap in the mouth. As long as it is not that anti-bacterial crap. ;)

Nice Gilligan's Island reference there!:D


About the parents, yeah, they took it a little too far. But I am not against a little soap in the mouth. As long as it is not that anti-bacterial crap. ;)
Hear, hear!! :rofl:

Nice Gilligan's Island reference there!:D

:lol: Thanks, I couldn't think of a better way to reference my favorite episode. :D

Soap in the mouth is abuse. Chemicals from the soap can be harmful. A simple whack in the ass is more than enough as long as it isn't used regularly.

Soap in the mouth always reminds me of that one scene in A Christmas Story

"Where did you hear that word"

"Uhh.....SCHWARTZ!"



*mom calls Schwartz's mom*

"You know what Ralphie just said?"

"What? NOOOOOOOO"


"Yes you know where he heard it from?"


"Hs father?"


"No,YOUR SON!"

I think they went too far in this case.


I agree in this case, though as far as washing out the mouth with Soap is
concerned as general discipline, I think it should depend on the situation,
though if I had children, I would not wash their mouths out with Soap.

I voted it depends on the situation, this one was child abuse. My Grandmother washed my Mom's mouth out with soap for using bad words. Chewing soap though, no you don't do that it's too much.

I think washing someones mouth out with soap is too extreme. In my house when I was a kid if I swore, I got hit. As a result I didnt swear when I was a kid (at least not if my mother was in ear shot).

Remember poor little Ralphie in a Christmas Story? :lol: Lifebuoy!!:eek:

I though these things only happened in movies (http://www.misfittoys.net/movies/christmasstory/blind.jpg)

Florida couple forces child to eat soap
Child abuse or discipline?

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It was in a house off Shenandoah Drive in Palm Bay, in which investigators say a little girl was punished. According to Palm Bay Police , the mother's boyfriend, Wilfredo Rivera, made her chew on soap for ten minutes, while the child's mother, Adriyanna Herdener, watched.

"I think people need to educate themselves more about using an object or foreign substance in a child's body. Whether it's soap or hot sauce. You just never know how somebody's going to react," said neighbor Christina Chiarilla, who works in child care.

Investigators say the child was crying, vomiting and foaming at the mouth. According to police, the boyfriend wouldn't let the girl rinse out her mouth until she cleaned up her mess.

Reports state the child's lips, throat and tongue became swollen and was in pain. That's when the mom asked her boyfriend to take the 8 year old to the hospital.

Police say Herdener didn't go to the hospital because, she didn't want to deal with the Department of Children and Families. But when DCF was called to the hospital, they say Rivera left with the child even before she was treated. Both were later arrested at her home. According to the DCF, the couple has a lengthy history of complaints.

Chiarilla says it's a shame. "Parents make mistakes. They don't know everything. Their mistake wasn't necessarily that they gave her the soap, it was the reaction to what happen."

And now the mother and her boyfriend face punishment for their actions. They were more concerned about themselves. To me that's a selfish reaction," adds Chiarilla.

Both Herdener and Rivera bonded out of jail. They did not want to comment.

________________________________________________

While I certainly do agree that children need discipline and some kids today are just out of control, I think these people went way too far. No child deserves to be hurt or made physically ill like that. Also, why was the mother even allowing the boyfriend to do that to her daughter? If my hypothetical boyfriend punished my hypothetical children like that, HE would be the one in the hospital! :mad: Where is the little girl's father?

I said...Depends....

This was abuse because I read the whole thing, the girl had soap in her mouth and the guy wouldn't let her rinse out her mouth until she cleaned up her own vomit? That was TOO Far!

I would ask "Where the **** did you learn that word"...? And if she said "You"...then I would tell her a story of one time where I called my sister a '****' and I thought of washing my mouth out with bleach!

I'll never use the soap method, I would just ask her where she heard the word. We're now in a society where we can't even say 'no' to our children.

Soap in the mouth always reminds me of that one scene in A Christmas Story

"Where did you hear that word"

"Uhh.....SCHWARTZ!"



*mom calls Schwartz's mom*

"You know what Ralphie just said?"

"What? NOOOOOOOO"


"Yes you know where he heard it from?"


"Hs father?"


"No,YOUR SON!"


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I love watching with the closed captions because it says "Smacking" after you hear the mom's footsteps and then you hear Schwartz yelling "What'd I do Ma? I didn't do nothin'!"
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

BTW, I watched the commentary on that movie and it said that the soap was actually a bar of wax.

I agree that making a child eat soap is horrible. Definitely abuse not only for obvious reasons but it can also make a child sick. Getting soap in your eyes is bad enough but I can't imagine what it would do to your insides.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I love watching with the closed captions because it says "Smacking" after you hear the mom's footsteps and then you hear Schwartz yelling "What'd I do Ma? I didn't do nothin'!"
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

BTW, I watched the commentary on that movie and it said that the soap was actually a bar of wax.

I like the film too - I'll have to watch it this Christmas.

In my opinion, this situation was child abuse. Maybe they didn't realise that the soap would make her sick, but even so, when she became ill, they should have ended it right there.

My mom used to wash out my mouth with soap, and I turned out just fine.

But eating it? That's a different story.

It's simple - either you let the kid do whatever she/he wants or you punish them. No matter how you punish them nowadays, it's considered abuse, so what's the point?

It's simple - either you let the kid do whatever she/he wants or you punish them. No matter how you punish them nowadays, it's considered abuse, so what's the point?
There are more effective ways to discipline a child that don't involve physically harming them or frightening them into submission. If someone struck another adult or made them chew on soap, that person would be charged with assault.

The problem with parents today is that they want to be their child's buddy instead of their parent.

It's simple - either you let the kid do whatever she/he wants or you punish them. No matter how you punish them nowadays, it's considered abuse, so what's the point?

I agree that punishment is needed, but sometimes it can be taken too far and it doesn't always fit the "crime". In this case, I think the boyfriend went too far with punishing the child. The article states that the child's lips, throat and tongue became swollen, causing her pain, and that she was vomiting and foaming at the mouth. It also states that the boyfriend wouldn't let her rinse her mouth out until she had cleaned up her mess. In my opinion, that is unnecessarily cruel and it wasn't as though she had deliberately made a mess. She had had soap in her mouth, naturally she was sick.

I think that as soon as she was sick, the boyfriend should have ended it there, and that he certainly should have ended it when her throat and tongue started to swell.

I am not against punishing children when they do wrong, but punishing them in a way that makes them ill, in my opinion, is not right. As I said before, it's possible that the mother and boyfriend were unaware that the girl would become so ill or would have such a negative reaction to the soap, but even if they didn't know she would become so sick, I think it was irresponsible of them to make her chew on it for so long. Just the thought of having soap in my mouth for thirty seconds makes me feel sick.

"What brought you to this lowely state?"
"I-I can't."
"Please tell us! We must know!"
"I-It was.... It was.... SOAP POISONING!"

In this situation at least, it sure was child abuse.

"What brought you to this lowely state?"
"I-I can't."
"Please tell us! We must know!"
"I-It was.... It was.... SOAP POISONING!"
rofl :rofl: I love that part.

"What brought you to this lowely state?"
"I-I can't."
"Please tell us! We must know!"
"I-It was.... It was.... SOAP POISONING!"
LOL love that part too and the movie

"OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE"

LOL love that part too and the movie

"OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE"


I knew I probably didn't need to name the movie because someone was going to know that quote right off!:lol:

What that B.f. did sounds way over the top to me. I vote CHILD ABUSE and very poor adult reality testing!

I am all for soaping and spanking within reason. I think these parents went over the top with it, although they weren't trying to harm the child it did still cross the threshold for abuse. I think they should get a good talking to and maybe parenting classes, not jail time.

I am all for soaping and spanking within reason. I think these parents went over the top with it, although they weren't trying to harm the child it did still cross the threshold for abuse. I think they should get a good talking to and maybe parenting classes, not jail time.


Sorry, Charlie. This form of punishment didn't cross the threshold. It was a clear-cut case of abuse and the parents need a hell of a lot more than a talking to. I hope the idiot boyfriend gets reasonable jail time and curses out the Judge upon sentencing, Maybe then he'll get to chew on some soap. :mad:

Sorry, Charlie. This form of punishment didn't cross the threshold. It was a clear-cut case of abuse and the parents need a hell of a lot more than a talking to. I hope the idiot boyfriend gets reasonable jail time and curses out the Judge upon sentencing, Maybe then he'll get to chew on some soap. :mad:

Well, we don't really KNOW all the facts or whether it was as brutal a punishment as the D.A. wants to suggest it was. All we know for sure is that she had an allergic reaction that they apparently weren't anticipating. I don't automatically assume that prosecutors are 100% honest.

All we know for sure is that she had an allergic reaction that they apparently weren't anticipating.

Give me a freaking break, Any parent that forces their child to chew on soap and doesn't expect them to have some type of reaction isn't playing with a full deck. This is no different than having the child chug a bottle of shampoo, It's still abuse. :mad:

I can't believe some people actually justify this. A whack to the ass is more than enough as long as you don't do it regularly.

Give me a freaking break, Any parent that forces their child to chew on soap and doesn't expect them to have some type of reaction isn't playing with a full deck. This is no different than having the child chug a bottle of shampoo, It's still abuse. :mad:

Perhaps, but I don't think a Christmas Story-style soaping is, and I was on the receiving end of several. Your mileage may vary.

Perhaps, but I don't think a Christmas Story-style soaping is, and I was on the receiving end of several. Your mileage may vary.


Of course there's a big difference in the soap that Ralphie had in his mouth and what you had in yours and that's taste.