A mom in Ohio has been sentenced after she admitted to shoving her kids down the stairs, which she previously claimed was “normal discipline.”
Daisha Phillips was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday, June 22, after she pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse, according to a courtroom report from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
During the hearing, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker said he considered giving her a longer sentence. However, he ultimately came to the punishment decision due to an agreement between the prosecutors and defense attorneys.
“This one will stick with me for a while,” Dinkelacker told Phillips, 29, per the outlet. “These children will never be able to enjoy the childhood they deserve because of their mom.”
Phillips was arrested following an incident that involved her then-4-year-old son and then-5-year-old daughter at their home. She was caught abusing her son in August 2025, according to a probable cause affidavit viewed by Law & Crime.
Police said that the mother of two bound her son at “his wrists with rope” and pushed “him down a flight of stairs.” While the particular incident only seemed to be targeted at the boy, police said they believed Phillips’ actions caused “a risk of serious physical harm” to her children.
Phillips was accused of creating a “substantial risk” to her son’s health by “violating a duty of care and protection” when she pushed him down the stairs, per the affidavit.
The mother was also accused of abusing her daughter, and she allegedly bound the girl’s hands with rope and shoved her down the stairs like her brother on a different occasion, according to court documents obtained by WXIX. Additionally, authorities claimed that Phillips abused her daughter in other ways.
Phillips allegedly struck the girl “numerous times with a belt, causing serious physical injury which required (her daughter) to be admitted overnight to a hospital,” per the court documents.
After she was arrested, Phillips allegedly “admitted” to a Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services social worker that she caused the injuries to her daughter. Police also said that she claimed the abuse “was her ‘normal discipline.’”
Both of Phillips’ children have since undergone forensic interviews with a trained social worker, and they both confirmed “that the abuse had occurred.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
