Mom Arrested For Taking Daughter’s Cell Phone Away As Punishment


I’ll admit growing up the only child I was pretty much perfect, but there were times when my parents did let me know that I was misbehaving.  The first thing they did was take away TV time, then friend time, sometimes I would get extra chores to do.

Now with my kids, I am pretty strict and my parenting style is much different then my parents.  But the one thing we can all agree on is that you have to discipline your kids in some reasonable way.

So why are we reading that a Michigan mother was thrown in jail for punishing her daughter by taking away her cell phone?  It’s funny to read about it but I am sure this mom wasn’t laughing.

“I can’t believe I had to be put through it, my daughter had to be put through it, my family.”

Jodie May of Hudsonville, Michigan was told her daughter was being disruptive in school.

As a punishment, she took the 15-year-olds phone away. Did it seem like something that was reasonable right?

“I was just being a mom, a concerned parent and disciplining my daughter,” May said.

But shockingly, May was thrown in jail a month later for a misdemeanor theft charge. To make matters even worse her arrest came the day before Mother’s Day.

After spending hours at the police station, May was finally released on a $200 bond. Her day in court finally arrived recently.

This is where the story gets a little upsetting.  The “theft” charge was reported by her ex-husband, who had given the Iphone 6 as a gift to his daughter.

Prosecutors say May never cleared any of this with them, and she was believed to have stolen the phone from her ex. May says that was never the case.

“I believe the prosecutor knew the whole time. It was an easy question to have answered,” May said.

Prosecutors were ready to add a new charge against May because of the mix up, larceny by conversion, which could have 90 days of jail time.

Just minutes into her trial the prosecutors asked to approach the bench.  It was revealed to the judge what really happened.  He dismissed the case shortly after.

May’s attorney, Jennifer Kuiper-Weise, said  the situation was not “thoroughly vetted, and unfortunately, Miss May was a victim of that.”

Thankfully, May left the courtroom on Tuesday without a criminal record.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” May told reporters. “I can’t believe I had to be put through it, my daughter had to be put through it, my family. I’m very surprised, but I’m very happy with the outcome.”

What do you do to discipline your kids?  Do you take something away?


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