Great-Grandmothers, Tact, and Spanking

I had a conversation with a really nice lady while waiting outside at the OB’s office yesterday. I would have never guessed her as a great-grandmother if she hadn’t told me she was there with her granddaughter who had a 10 month old baby.

We talked about a lot of things having to do with kids, and of course she gave me some parenting advice. She’d obviously had a lot of practice in giving advice without seeming like she was giving advice, and I even though I picked up on what she was doing, I appreciated the fact that she made an effort to disguise it.

The point is, I knew what she was driving at, and actually appreciated what she had to say.

Her main point was that we shouldn’t hesitate to spank when needed. Of course, she didn’t come right out and say this. She gave a couple of anecdotes about kids misbehaving in the store, at the doctor’s office (hint, hint to the other lady waiting with her 3 year old), and at church. She followed that up by saying that she was sure that my parents had spanked me when I needed it, and look at what a nice young man I’d turned out to be.

Well, at least she was half right. 😛

I’m down with spanking. No doubt about it.

Luckily for Becky, she doesn’t have to question herself on spanking. She has plenty of other people to question it for her.

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2 Replies to “Great-Grandmothers, Tact, and Spanking”

  1. I don’t tell other people how to raise their kids, but after I wrote the piece you linked to I have really been gratified by all the Moms who have whole heartedly endorsed what I said.

    And there are a lot of younger parents who are questionng all the results the of the no-spanking social experiment of the the 1950’s, which by any impartial observation, has been a total failure.

    I am generally considered a loose, crunchy, liberal parent. I actually believe that TALK is the best way to deal with most things.

    But there does arise a time for consequences and punishment. My child responds better to spanking than timeouts, etc.

    I also think a spanking is less mean, than all this other stuff. It is done, the point is made and we can move on

    My daughter is actually punished less than most kids, but she is spanked more.

    I know this is a controversial issue. But it does not help the discussion to have a smug smart ass attitude about it.

    ~Becky

  2. Agreed.

    Everyone, even kids, deserve an opportunity to listen to reason. But there also comes a time when people, even kids, have trouble paying attention to reason. That’s what “attention getters” are for.

    And for older kids, the spanking is hardly the punishment at all. The buildup of worry and anticipation created by walking into the woods and choosing the switch–that’s the real punishment.

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