Indeed, Curtis has a very fair point. I always hear how kids today don’t respect anyone or anything, and it’s because they don’t get spanked enough, and this generation is doomed as a result. But I heard the same thing when I was a kid, and adults older than me said they were told the same thing when they were kids. Every friend and family member I know who has spent time in prison got spanked when they were growing up. Kids today aren’t any worse than you and I were.
The real issue is how too many people confuse punishment with discipline. Some parents, rather than lead by example, wait for their kids to screw up before trying to beat the bad out of them. But kids will keep misbehaving if they think they can get away with it, even if they know they might get in trouble. To them it’s worth the risk. The times my parents spanked me number in the single digits, and it was usually after several warnings. Once I was in high school they stopped because they knew it was no longer effective anyway. For the most part I stayed out of trouble because I saw my parents stay out of trouble. Any mistakes I made were a lesson to be learned on my own.
Kevin is also right, in that getting grounded was far worse. While a spanking might result in a couple of minutes of pain, getting grounded was time lost that I was never getting back. Same with having my phone/computer/game console/tv taken away for the rest of the semester if my grades started slipping.
Indeed, Curtis has a very fair point. I always hear how kids today don’t respect anyone or anything, and it’s because they don’t get spanked enough, and this generation is doomed as a result. But I heard the same thing when I was a kid, and adults older than me said they were told the same thing when they were kids. Every friend and family member I know who has spent time in prison got spanked when they were growing up. Kids today aren’t any worse than you and I were.
The real issue is how too many people confuse punishment with discipline. Some parents, rather than lead by example, wait for their kids to screw up before trying to beat the bad out of them. But kids will keep misbehaving if they think they can get away with it, even if they know they might get in trouble. To them it’s worth the risk. The times my parents spanked me number in the single digits, and it was usually after several warnings. Once I was in high school they stopped because they knew it was no longer effective anyway. For the most part I stayed out of trouble because I saw my parents stay out of trouble. Any mistakes I made were a lesson to be learned on my own.
Kevin is also right, in that getting grounded was far worse. While a spanking might result in a couple of minutes of pain, getting grounded was time lost that I was never getting back. Same with having my phone/computer/game console/tv taken away for the rest of the semester if my grades started slipping.