Now our other friend's mother, Julie, who also accompanied us to the park with her daughter thought that Karen was totally over reacting but I beg to differ.  First of all, how parents discipline their child is none of my business.  That being said, I am of this opinion....I do think she was slightly embarrassed by Hunter's theft which may have caused her to really verbally lash out (we've all been embarrassed by our children at one time or another) but I believe she was more outraged at his gaul.  He whipped out that Snickers and ate it right in front of us like only a seasoned shoplifter would.

I think stealing is definitely something that should be punished in the hopes of teaching a life lesson.  When I was 5, I stole a packet of cucumber seeds believing they would yield my favorite snack....pickles.  When my mother learned of my indiscretion, she also made me return the seeds and apologize.  The store owner behaved menacingly (probably in cahoots with my mother) and it really taught me a life lesson....to this day I can recall that feeling of dread I experienced walking up to the counter, in front of all those disgusted people, and admitting my crime only to hear all the other mothers hissing in disgust.  That feeling coupled with watching many episodes of the frighteningly real prison drama OZ on HBO have led me to an honest life.

What do you think?  Do you think Karen over reacted?  Have you ever been faced with this situation??