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I think the having to return something that was stole is an effective tool that most parents use, but I am sure it was also humiliating at the same time. When I was a kid a group of friends and I were throwing dirt around from someone's dirt pile. Of course we starting throwing it at a house too. Someone broke a window. We all scattered, but our mom (my brother and mine) made us go back to the house, apologies, and offer to pay for the damages. It was humiliating, but it was the right thing to do, I learned a lesson, and I did not want to have to go through it again.
In this case though (from what it sounds like) nothing was broken or stolen. It sounds like their daughter is going through "teenager" stuff. It sounds like the parents were sick of her attitude and saw that she was not living up to her potential. Again I do not know the details. I do not know the parents or their motivation. Maybe they just wanted their 15 minutes of fame. However if this works out for the better for the girl, it is one embarrassing moment that could make long, meaningful change.
I agree being consistent as a parent is not about the punishment. It is about being consistent about the expectations and consequences, but IMO more importantly the lessons learned from those consequences. Parenting is always evolving. You change, kids change, society changes. You make mistakes as a parent that you wish you could get back. Maybe these parent look back on this situation and think it was a mistake. However I will not fault parents for being involved and trying to raise their kids to the best of their abilities. I would rather an involved parent that makes mistakes than an uninvolved parent that makes excuses.
