Verbally Abusing Children is Asking For Trouble; Just Ask Ivana Trump

Real estate developer and famous ex-wife Ivana Trump was escorted off of a plane at Palm Beach Airport yesterday after she allegedly cursed at one or more disruptive children and then became more agitated after flight attendants tried to calm her, according to ABC news.

The Daily Record reports that Ms. Trump screamed "Little F***ers! Shut the F*** up!" at the children and cursed similarly at the deputy sheriff.   

Many commenters on other sites have written in praise of Ivana's behavior, saying, in effect, that if disruptive children are not adequately controlled by parents, then we all should have free reign to cursed at them. 

We disagree. 

While one or two episodes of cursing at children by strangers is not likely to cause long term harm to the child, it is a terrible habit for a parent or caregiver. 

Children who suffer regular verbal aggression from parents are more likely to be delinquent from school, more likely to become physically aggressive, and more likely to have interpersonal problems than those who are handled more reasonably, according to a study in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect by Vissing et al.  This finding was independent of suffering from physical abuse, although children who suffered both physical and verbal abuse had the worst outcomes. 

Persistent verbal abuse may even predispose a child to crime.  Teenage criminal offenders  have reported much higher rates of extreme verbal abuse in the family than non-offenders, according to Spillane-Grieco. 

And children who are subject to verbally aggressive behavior from parents are more likely to have low self esteem and to do poorly in school, according to Solomon and Seres.  This finding, again, was independent of physical abuse.

Ivana Trump is not the only person who has felt the need to curse on an airline, and probably won't be the last.  Senator Chuck Schumer cursed at a flight attendant on a flight this month after he was instructed to turn off his cell phone. 

Please read our legal disclaimer.

Write a comment

Name:
Email:*
Subject:
Comment:*

I would like to receive news and updates from MedPie.com Yes No

Help prevent spam - enter security code above:
 

sage
Posts: 3

Thank you so much for this article
Reply #3 on : Fri January 01, 2010, 17:23:10

---

You are wise to state facts regarding verbal abuse and the same goes for physical abuse.

I was raised properly and still slightly misbehaved with other children as we played outside. A neighbor once ran outsdie and grabbed my friend by the neck, shook him, and raged at him to stay off his proerty. Many saw that happen, including me, and the police were called to talk to him. I learned that there are very weird/scary/inappropriate people out there who have control issues...that is what I learned. Ivana is no different from that neighbor, imo.

I'm very dismayed (and frightened) by the amount of support Ivana has gotten on so many message boards. Some of these posters are trolls fanning flames, of course, and some can't fully comprehend what took place. BTW, Ivana does have a history of TANTRUMS in PLANES...google. But sadly, it appears to me that many condone OUTRAGEOUSLY bad behavior in order to deal with every day irritations in public places. Ivana went postal = inexcusable, just like that neighbor. There were other ways to handle her discomfort, but she chose poorly. And it was HER behavior, (not the children's, not the parent's) that caused a big delay on this flight which is huge. She caused huge problems, no one else.

Katie
Posts: 3

Re: Verbally Abusing Children is Asking For Trouble; Just Ask Ivana Trump
Reply #2 on : Mon December 28, 2009, 12:11:40

---

Parents need to teach their children not to be feral little beasts. It's entirely the fault of the parents- I'd have thrown the PARENTS off the plane, not Ms. Trump!

WPD
Posts: 3

disruptive children
Reply #1 on : Mon December 28, 2009, 12:05:36

---

My understanding is this plane was getting ready to leave the gate. Parents should have control of their children and they should be seated. Parents should be aware of the need to discipline children and not give them free reign. Parents also need to be courteous to fellow passengers which includes teaching children, as well as themselves, to be quiet, respectful and courteous. Ivana Trump would not have felt the need to curse if these children were under control! Passengers pay a lot for a first class ticket and should not be subjected to undisciplined and discourteous children and other adults. Not only is this an infringement on the rights of others, but also a safety factor. We all know that terrorists would not think twice re. strapping explosive devices to children and using them. The parents of these children and the children should also have been escorted off the plane. People need to learn to act like humans, not animals!

Sponsored Links