Tonight's music is John Coltrane. Not anything that I have heard before, but it is going into the Jazz collection. What sucks the worst is that I can't find the info for the songs, so I have 10 great tracks with no names... oh well.
I think we shall speak on corporal punishment today....
How many people out there have seen a parent with a rowdy child in a restaurant or department store and thought,"that wouldn't be MY child!" Now, how many of you would actually spank your child for acting out? And I don't mean to the point of pulling an extension cord out of your purse or going to the toy section to get a length of Hot Wheels track, but a smack on the rump as a reminder who is the parent?
I really think that more of us need to, on occasion, issue out a healthy serving of spanking. I think one of the major reasons that there are so many problems with rowdy, disrespectful children is that children don't fear their parent's wrath anymore. Too many parents are trying to be their kid's friends and forgetting that the child is not their equal. When I was a kid, I not only respected my mother, but I feared her! Because I knew that if I screwed up, I would get whooped for it. Not just for doing something I knew was wrong, but for making people think I had no proper training at home(a direct reflection on her as a parent). There was none of this "Oh, come on Mom!" or any negotiation at all. The best thing you could do is be quiet so as not to expound your sentence.
Now, there is nothing wrong with being a friend to your kid, but that kid needs to clearly know the line where friend stops and parent begins. When we are playing a video game together, we can be friends, but if I am having to ask about why your grades are slipping in school, then I am the parent. There needs to be clear and concise lines between those times.
One specific time comes to mind, when we had friends over and my oldest daughter said something out of line. I gave her the hardest look I could, to try to save her some embarrassment, but she chose to blurt out "I can GLARE too!" Needless to say, I did not beat her in front of our guests, but that was the end of her evening. and she left the room thoroughly embarrassed. The next morning, she apologized for her behavior and and disrespect, and we went back to business as usual. Had I let that incident slide, or not called her out on it then, she may have continued in her decline of respect... and then I would have had to dole out a heaping helping of whoop-ass, but fortunately, in her younger years, she learned that certain behaviors from her will earn certain punishments. Also that an elevated tone of voice usually precludes these events, though she may have forgotten "The Look," since I hadn't had to use it in some time. And we all knew what "The Look" meant from our parents - it meant that that moment might be an excellent time to start thinking of your Last Will and Testament.
and MP3's and downloading movies from the Final word: do not let your kids think they are your equal. they may know more about I-podsInternet, but you know more about the things that will still apply, and be important, when they are your age.
"You don't get to be old bein' no fool!"
-Mudbone/Richard Pryor.
1 comment:
I remember that night that your daughter chose to "make a stand". I think that it could have been handled differently on both sides so as to avoid any sense of disrespect or disregard. Thankfully it worked out without too many regrets. I am glad that you chose to write your thoughts. Keep on typing. I would like to see some of your poetry a little more though.
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