A TOWNSVILLE mother who made her young son sit in public with a sign reading "Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief" pinned to his shirt has defended her actions, saying she had tried everything to stop him from shoplifting.

The woman, dubbed "Tough Love Mum" after the Townsville Bulletin's front page story has made national headlines this morning sparking a frenzied debate over parenting.



The boy, thought to be aged about 10, was also wearing Shrek ears and writing lines in what appeared to a form of public punishment, according to dozens of witnesses who contacted the Townsville Bulletin.

The boy spent almost an hour on Sunday near a popular waterpark in Townsville while his family ate lunch nearby.



The boy's mother said she had tried everything to stop her son from stealing before resorting to the drastic action.



"We've had a process over the last three years of him shop-lifting and stealing whatever he can get his hands on," she said.



"I have taken him to the police station, had the police officers take him around, shown him a paddy wagon, shown him all the cells, shown him the process of being charged.



"I've taken him to the court house, I've taken him out to Cleveland (Youth Detention Centre) to drive around, I've done all that.



"I have put him into courses, I have had counselling down, I have done everything I can.



"You name it I've had him at the shops where he's stolen from, I've got the shop owners to call the police and have the police come and have a talk to him."



The mum said the last straw happened last Wednesday.



"I let him go to the shops to get the family some milk or some bread or something," she said.



"Then he's got these chocolates in his top drawer of his bedroom."



The woman said the she believed her son had learnt from public humiliation which forced him to deal with the consequences of his actions.



"I am hoping he has (learnt his lesson), I don't think he will be game to do it again, I really don't but time will tell, soon as I trust him to go out to a shop," she said.

Diane Mayers was so "horrified" when she saw the boy she contacted Child Safety Services to intervene.

Ms Mayers, who worked with the department in the past, said any long-term effects of public humiliation would have been much worse than physical abuse.

"The boy just kept his head down and was staring at the ground," she said. "The parents had gone to all the trouble of printing two copies of the sign - one for the back and one for the front - and laminating them. A lot of work had gone in to it.

"A lot of people walked past and were laughing at him, including boys who would have been his age.

"At one point the boy had taken off the Shrek ears. My daughter walked past and heard the mother say, 'Put them back on or I'll smack your head in'."

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Originally published as Tough love mum had 'tried everything'