Shear discipline: Barber gives mature cuts to misbehaving kids

A barber shop in suburban Atlanta is offering parents a new approach to disciplining kids who misbehave. It's a hair-raising tactic for the youngsters, and it's getting mixed reviews from grown-ups, CBS News' David Begnaud reports.

At A-1 Kutz in Snellville, Georgia, the newest cut is the least popular look. Owner Russell Frederick named the new do.

"I called it the 'grown up kids special' for all the kids who want to act as if they're grown, so I took it upon myself to make you look grown," Frederick said.

You can't find a kid in the salon who likes it.

"It actually shows you how to behave, so I would agree with it, but at the same time, I wouldn't want my hair to be cut off," said 13-year-old Khalil Bennet.

It's called a special because it's meant to punish problem kids by making them look like old men. It's also free.

"I'm more than willing to do it for free because I have three sons, and I understand what this is all about and trying to raise kids with all these new rules and regulations and that you've got to tip toe through raising your child without being scrutinized," Frederick said.

Frederick got the idea after his own son started failing classes.

"I could not afford for him to get a whooping and then call the police on me and then I'd be in trouble," Frederick said.

Unable to change his behavior, Frederick decided to alter his son's appearance. It was a move that at first hurt his heart, he said.

"When all else fails, what do you do? I mean, you can't whoop them," he said. "You take all their gadgets away from them. I mean, when all of that is done and it still doesn't work, how do you reach these kids?"

Frederick insists the horrible haircut worked for his son, so when a mother stopped in asking for help dealing with her troubled son, he knew what to do, with the mother's permission.

After the haircut, Frederick said, "His mother said that the school asked for her to fix it because it was getting too much attention at the school."

He changed the boy's hair back, but he also saw a change in the boy.

"The son actually thanked me. He said that he doesn't want that cut again, and he's going to do what it takes so he doesn't have to get it," he said.

Frederick's hair humiliation went viral after he posted the pictures on social media.

"It's just been bananas," he said.

He's gotten calls from all over the world, even one floating the idea of a reality show.

As you might imagine, not all of the attention Frederick has been getting is positive. He even had one threatening phone call. Some say his effort to discipline has the potential to backfire.

"In general, mental health professionals don't like the idea of shame; they don't like strategies that humiliate children," said child psychiatrist John Walkup. "I think we're much more about kind of helping children do the right thing in a positive way."

"I think it's brilliant," said Navy veteran and father of four Brian Cain.

Cain endorses the cut as way of whipping boys into shape, minus the whipping.

"It's a lesson," Cain said. "When you're being punished at home, OK it's at home. It's behind closed doors. But you bring that out and let your friends ... say 'Hey,' looking at the haircut, 'what'd you do to get that haircut?' 'Oh, I didn't study or I'm talking back to the teacher or I'm always getting detention.' I strongly feel like that'll teach the lesson."

Frederick said he's not going to stop.

"No, why? If I see that it's causing more of a problem than it's helping, then I would stop," he said. "But as long as I'm seeing positive outcomes from this, why would you stop?"