Wisconsin town to make parents pay ‘bullying tax’ for their children’s schoolyard behaviour

Scroll through the comments below any bullying story these days and you’re bound to find readers who blame bad playground behaviour on poor parenting.

There’s a good chance at least 20 per cent of such comments originated in Monona, Wisconsin. Alright, so that’s not exactly true. But the town of 8,000 has decided to get tough on schoolyard cruelty by fining parents of the accused.

That’s right, folks. A bullying fine. As of May 20, the Wisconsin State Journal reports, parents of kids who just can’t seem to stop being awful to their classmates could potentially have to pay up in municipal court for their offspring’s actions.

First-time violators would face a $114 ticket, while subsequent violations during the same 12-month period can run up to $177, although Monona Police Chief Wally Ostrenga believes the clause will be used “sparingly.”

Also see: Stepmom's unusual punishment for bully daughter

“Sometimes you’ll knock on someone’s door and they won’t want to talk to you — their kids are perfect, they could never do anything wrong,” he says, adding that the ticket wouldn’t be classified as a criminal offense. “This is for those times when we get the door slammed in our faces.”

Ticketed parents have 90 days to respond to the offence, but it’s believed that Monona won’t be experiencing mile-long lineups of angry parents any time in the future.

"I hope we never use it," Monona mayor Bob Miller tells QMI Agency. "I'll be very surprised if it's used -- but it's real if needed."

Thanks to a spate of high-profile bullying cases that tragically ended in suicide, school districts across North America are getting tougher on the sustained cruelty exacted on targeted students by their peers.

Also see: Boy takes a stand against bullying in viral video

While some school boards still aren’t taking the problem very seriously, others have taken wide measures to tackle the problem head-on.

Here in Canada, where we’ve had our own horrible track record lately, the government has also gotten involved, creating legislation aimed at improving the way authorities deal with the problem across the country.

So far we have integrated school-wide programs, awareness campaigns and countless YouTube videos, although no immediate plans to start charging Mom and Dad when Junior acts up in the hallway.

Would you support fining the parents of repeat bullying offenders or is it unfair to punish the parents for the actions of their children?