Timeouts for bad behavior? Check. Holding back prized possessions for a period of time? Check. Keeping kids inside and denying them time with friends? Check. Many American parents have used these and other methods of discipline or instruction as needed. But few have literally abandoned their child in a dense forest and driven away after he apparently threw some stones at a car.
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That’s what parents of a seven-year-old boy in Japan did last Saturday as punishment. After the boy was left on his own and wandered away, he was finally found unharmed nearly a week after his disappearance set off a huge search that gripped Japan, as Reuters and other news outlets have reported.
Little Yamato Tanooka was discovered cowering in a building on a military base some 2.5 miles from where he disappeared last Saturday in a wooded area on Mount Komagatake in Nanae, Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands. “One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this morning and opened the door of a building on the base, and there he was,” a member of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces told national television.
The boy, who apparently survived on water, answered to his name and said he was hungry. The soldier provided water, bread, and rice balls. A hospital check showed the boy was healthy except for low body temperature, a doctor told a news conference.
The boy’s father, highly emotional, was grateful for the extensive rescue efforts and told Japanese media, “We’ve reflected on what we did and it was really excessive. We loved him before, but I hope to give him even more attention now.”
Negligence charges against the parents have not been ruled out.
To read more about controversial child discipline methods, including spanking, click here.
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