Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Boy, my Dad would have STILL been in jail.

Saw mention of this subject elsewhere today and heard it mentioned as an issue.

It should not be an issue at all as there are times in child rearing where lengthy discussions, reasoning, and votes can not instantaneously solve a problem

If it borders on abuse, then there can be problems. While I've witnessed some public displays that were questionable and obviously in poor taste, I've not become involved.

There's plenty of testimony in support, and I see swift and sure punishment delivered across the full spectrum of the animal kingdom every day.

I believe that if a kid is not straightened up by age 12 - he (or she) will be a continuing problem.
I've been accused of being the model for that theory, by some.

had a buddy in high school that was a real punk toward his mom... he'd shove her out of his room, push her, yell at her etc...

more than once I saw his dad ( who was hard of hearing due to being an artillery officer in WW 2 ) come into his room and just tell his son, " I am very disappointed in you son..." and then leave...

This made this kid George just cry his heart out....he would say that he wish his dad would slap him or hit him, when he was mad at him or his actions...but his dad's 'disappointment' cut him deeper than hitting him ever would...

I learned from Major Dively.... the other thing I saw with his son and him.....anticipation of the potential punishment was always much more impact, than the punishment itself.... fear of the unknown I guess...

he'd act that way toward his mother when his father wasn't around... she was an obnoxious loud mouth b^tch...but when his dad was home, he'd tow the line like crazy...almost a totally different person....

We had a drill Sargent like that in basic also...he didn't yell at his troops, he'd come up beside your head and whisper to you, so you had to strain to hear what he was saying....scared the crap out of all of his troops...

During some time between assignments in Fort Sill I used to help with the trainees.

The E-5 I was assisting told me point blank that I couldn't yell convincingly to save my ass, so just stick to being a subtle d!ckhead, as it seemed that was my forte, and it ended up garnering a better response than the alternative.

The key was to keep the subtle and drop the d!ckhead part when I became a dad.

there has always been a line between child abuse, and corporal punishment. They are not the same.
Spare the rod, and spoil the child has had a valid basis throughout history.
When I had to spank my kids, I felt worse than they did, because by having to lay a hand on them, I was admitting I did a poor job in raising them. Still, better to catch bad behavior, and correct it, than to just let it continue.
We all have different life experiences, and many of us feel strongly one way or the other with this issue.