Discipline: Spanking

[IrishLake]

You come to my church tomorrow at 10am, and you will see 2 of the most well behaved kids under the age of 5 in a church-ever. Not lying, and a little bit bragging, we get complimented nearly every week from other church members sitting around us about how good our children are. I make sure to tell them how proud I am of them for being so good, especially when we see other kids around us acting up. Why are they this good? Two reasons: we reward for good behavior, and we punish for bad behavior. They know if they are good in church, they MIGHT get something special at home, like a donut. They know if they are bad, they will not get a donut for sure, they will likely lose a privledge to something else, and if it's really bad, a spank will be involved. I swat maybe once or twice a month, and I can count how many times I have fulled blown spanked my children. And you better believe that after some crying, I am in their room with them, soothing and discussing why there was a spank involved, and not a usual punishment, like taking toys away until they're earned back. It is a direct result of a severely improper action, they were warned, and made a choice to ignore the warning. As a result, my kids are learning that there is a consequence to every action, and they are learning to think things through beforehand. It is NEVER a result of my impatience or anger. (I leave the room and count to 10 or 20 pretty dang often...patience is not one of my virtues). Oh... and in the same light, we do not reward to the point where our kids expect it every time. It gets close sometimes, and we have to back off the rewarding for good behavior. I know plenty of kids (tball team comes to mind) that won't do anythign without a bribe from mommy.


I'm sorry to hear some people resent their parents for spanking, but I sure don't resent mine, nor my grandparents (my German grandma was the one who yielded the kockloffel ...all she had to do was wave it in our direction, and every single grandkid sat down and shut up, lol... and then we got thumbprint cookies). I know the times I was spanked it was deserved, and I'm certainly not "more violent" as a result. Lucky for us parents we get to make the rules, and not our kids.


It's funny... because all the kids I knew growing up who were aggressive or considered bullies... were the kids whose parents thought they were special wittle snowflakes that pissed rainbows and farted apple pie and those parents would never ever DARE to discipline their child with a spank. Those were the kids that needed it most.