rivka

My dad did this once when I was a kid. It was gross and not especially effective, and I don't think I'd ever use it on my children (unless I wanted them to get the reference in "A Christmas Story") but I also do not think it comes close to qualifying as child abuse. I got a similar punishment a few other times with hot sauce instead of soap, which was much more painful. Frankly I don't know that I'll bother to punish our kids for swearing... explain to them that it's not appropriate in front of grandma or at school, sure, but otherwise, who cares? Depending on the context, I'd be more inclined to pull out the dictionary so we could find some more creative vocabulary.