Bad Parenting...or is it?

While we were learning about operant conditioning in class, we learned all about reinforcement and punishment. We also learned about how positive and negative mean adding something and taking something away, respectively. As we were going through all of the concepts and related examples in class, all I could think of was parenting. How do our parents use reinforcements and punishments to get their children to behave the way they want them to behave? Then, on Saturday night, I was sitting in my room, when "What Would You Do?" came on. Funny enough, the episode was about parents who put their kids on leashes. Here's the video:

Naturally, as they said at the start of the video, this video was a representation of the leash concept's extreme conclusion. I would like to examine the concept of putting a child, or even a dog, on a leash. First of all, using a least is a form of positive punishment. It adds the leash to help get rid of the negative behavior: running away. Yes, I understand that this is not always the case. Sometimes, leashes are merely used as safety measures to keep dogs and children close by.

Imagine that your two-year-old kid loves running away from you in the middle of the grocery store. As a parent, you have a few options. For example, you can either take the kid outside when he runs away (negative punishment) or you can put a leash on the kid to keep him from running too far (positive punishment and safety). Recently, I have noticed that many parents are opting for the leash method, especially for toddlers and energetic children. Interestingly enough, a lot of parents actually think that putting their kids on leashes isn't a form of punishment at all. I suppose it depends on the situation. Even so, leashes have gotten a bad rap recently because some parents, like the "mom" in the video, treat their children like actual animals.

Here are some questions to consider:  What would you have done if you saw the child in the video tied to the post? As a future parent, will you even consider using this form of positive punishment on your children? Do you think it actually works?