Spanking The Gray Matter Out Of Our Kids (Yes, Don't Spank, Please)

[JDPriestly]

39. When my first child was about three months old, a dear friend who had raised a family of five

said to me in German something to the effect of, "When my first child was about three months old, a dear friend who had raised a family of five emember. Whatever you give your child, your child will give to you."

That is the best rule.

Children do need self-discipline. They do need to learn their boundaries, their limits and that actions have consequences.

They do not need to be hit or spanked. Learn to talk to your child. Learn to listen to your child. That is how children learn how to think.

Why does a child have to go to bed at night? Explain that to the child. Ask the child to explain why to you. If the child does not get enough sleep and is tired the next day, explain quietly that the tiredness is the consequence of not getting enough sleep.

Teach your child to think for himself. Teach your child to figure out the natural consequences of actions for himself.

When you hit or spank a child, you take from that child the opportunity to think about or experience the consequences of the child's misconduct.

Spanking is strictly for the satisfaction of the parent. It does absolutely nothing to make the child wiser, more intelligent, more capable of figuring out right from wrong. Nothing is learned from spanking other than that daddy or mommy is angry and it's best to stay out of their way when they are angry.

A parent who cannot control his or her anger well enough to restrain him or herself from hitting or spanking (or beating) his child needs to take anger management classes. Children are not whipping posts.