Mum photographed making her son do push-ups in public toilet as punishment

A mum who made her son do push ups in a public toilet after he misbehaved has sparked a debate about her parenting.

An image, which shows mum Nicole Quinn and her child, was uploaded to Facebook by a fellow mum who praised the woman for the scene in Hobby Lobby, Killeen, Texas.

Molly Wooden posted the image to Facebook with the comment: "If my hands weren’t full of children I would have applauded you. As your son gave you the back talk of the century, you stayed calm and collected while adding 10 more push ups to his already growing number.

"We need more parents like you, who aren’t afraid to parent their own children because of what someone else might think."

Molly Wooden posted it to Facebook (Facebook)

One commenter, Chea Wilson, said: "The floor is dirty huh? Well so is prison. Which would you whiney people rather have??

"I applaud this momma for doing what is right to teach her kid some manners and respect. Have him wash his hands and move on. Bravo!"

Another, Janice Wynan, added: "Yeah, bathroom floor is gross, but at least she's teaching him!"

Molly's post was liked more than 32,000 times, however not everyone agreed with the mum's method.

Andrea Rainwater on Facebook said: "My kids are kind and sweet little people and it's because I don't expect more from them than their age development allows and we have open communication about things.

"Stop treating children like animals... hell, pets are treated better than this."

Sammy Lynne added: "Hell no! There is no way in hell I'd have my kid touching a bathroom floor.

"I'm all for the cause but I'm not for that. Time and place, I'll make a scene before I force my child to touch a public bathroom floor."

Molly hailed the mum's parenting skills (Facebook)

Mum Nicole later said she was surprised at the reaction and thanked those supporting her.

She said: "From the bottom of my heart I just can't believe that there is such an overwhelming amount of support from people.

"Being a parent is the hardest job especially if you have a child that does have some behavior issues.

"I can't believe that I've inspired so many people to think outside the box as far as disciplining their children."