After finding out his 4-year-old son, Tristan, had gotten in trouble at school for being physical with his female classmates, dad Rob Devine gave him a very public punishment.
For an hour last week, the two stood on the side of the road in their town of Monroe, Michigan, with a sign that read: "I hit little girls."
“I want him to know you can’t go out and do these things and expect them to go away unnoticed, Devine told ABC7, "And expect me not to deal with it.”
When Tristan's mother, Brittany Tweed, found out about the punishment, she called child protective services.
"All [Tristan] knew was that he was hot, exhausted, and he wanted him to pick him up, and for me to take him away from that situation," Tweed said, adding that her son will not be going back to his dad's house.
"I feel degraded for him, I feel sad for him," she said.
Devine, for his part, says he has no regrets on his creative disciplining.
"I'd do it again honestly. I'm not gonna lie, if this persists and this doesn't work, then I'll figure out something else," he said. "It's trial and error, kids don't come with an instruction manual."
Though many called the punishment "controversial," after posting the story on Facebook, Devine received a barrage of support for his child-rearing.
