So if somebody is punished for something, but the punisher doesn't want the other parent (or, if it's not a parent doing the punishing, the parents) to know, how do they work around it?
I know of two TV examples like this.
In the Happy Days episode "The Skin Game", Richie and Potsy get fake IDs and go to a burlesque show (under the impression that the dancer will strip naked), and Howard finds out. He tells Richie he's grounded, but also decides not to tell his mother - she'll understand Howard going because it was for business, but won't understand Richie going. But then if he's grounded, and they don't want Marion to know, won't she be wondering why Richie is suddenly at home all the time (except for school)?
And in the Leave It to Beaver episode "Uncle Billy Returns", during a weekend when Uncle Billy watches Beaver and Wally while their parents are away, Beaver gets caught helping a friend sneak into the theater. When Uncle Billy hears that the theater usually bans customers for two weeks, Billy says that he would make it two months (though now I realize that they never actually say if the theater took Billy's suggestion and banned them for two months instead). But then Uncle Billy decides not to tell Beaver's parents, because kids don't need to keep being told that they are bad and Beaver had already gotten caught and in trouble. So if they're not telling the parents, then what does Beaver do if his parents decide to take him to the movies before his ban is over (well, depending on whether the parents decide to take him to that particular theater)?
And while we're on a similar topic, maybe this would be better for the questions thread, if somebody is banned from watching TV or using the internet/computer, does this apply to if they have to watch TV or use a computer at school?