Some parents have decided that declaring their child a thief, a slob, a bully, a failure or a tramp to the world is the best way to cure them of this behavior.
Since medieval times, shame and humiliation have been used to control behavior and inflict punishment. The modern-day public stocks are viral shaming videos posted on Facebook and YouTube, punishments picked up by media outlets and broadcast to millions.
Earlier this month, a fed-up father in Georgia made headlines by moving his teenage daughter's bedroom furniture and belongings onto the driveway, along with a sign stating: "Haley, room moved to driveway. Clean it next time."
Would it not have been as effective to move her messy things to a garage, a backyard or basement? Would that not have gotten her attention, versus attracting media attention?
This latest incident follows a long string of such public punishments we've seen go viral on social media. The YouTube video of the father shooting his daughter's laptop for disrespectful posts she made on Facebook has more than 39 million views and gave him his 15 minutes of virtual fame.
Children have been made to walk around near busy streets or in front of schools wearing cardboard sandwich signs with their "crimes" -- such as twerking at a school dance, bullying, failing school and stealing -- announced to public ridicule.
No matter how frustrated or angry you may be with your child's messy room, bad grades or Facebook posts, shaming them in public teaches them that humiliation should be used as a weapon.
It can be understandable, in a time when traditional lines of authority within families have been upended, for parents to struggle to find ways to re-establish control with children who seem out of control.
Changing social mores about the lines between public and private may make it seem normal to harness the power of technology to make a point to children, and perhaps just as loudly, make a point to the world: I am the parent. I am in charge. I have power over you.
The individual parents in these circumstances tap into a larger nerve than just their own frustration: If it's not acceptable to spank my child anymore, then this is how I can teach them a lesson. And, overwhelmingly, the public reaction is one of support.
Karyl McBride, a clinical psychologist based in Denver and author of "Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers," echoes the sentiments of many professionals.
"What they are modeling for their children is mean and cruel," she said. "Children learn more for what they see us do than anything we teach or preach to them." Children are still developing during their teen years. These are some of the most important times for children's self esteem, she said, and publicly shaming them is not how people raise kind, empathetic, secure children.
Ultimately, the lesson the child learns is to use power to make others comply. The object is to avoid getting caught and suffering consequences rather than understanding why the behavior was hurtful and wrong in its own right.
"If you want children to respect you, you have to respect them," said McBride.
It can be near impossible for an adult to respect a rude, lazy, self-centered child. But you can refuse to tolerate those behaviors while still respecting your child's dignity as a human being.
Two years ago, an 8-year-old third-grader in Swansea, Ill. was forced to stand outside her school, screaming and crying, wearing a sign that read, "I like to steal from others and lie about it."
Her parents made her wear the sign as punishment after she repeatedly stole, according to local reports. The superintendent called the police, who persuaded the girl's father to let her take off the sign and go inside to class.
As that girl's parents know, it is difficult to help a child correct destructive behaviors. Sometimes we need the help of teachers, counselors, clergy and our own village to survive the most trying years.
But we ought to recall Nietzsche's response when he asked what is most humane about us. It is "to spare someone shame," he wrote.
Don't make me a party to shaming your child.