Disciplining Children

[MagNoleA]

My kids are grownups and neither has a criminal record. High school was interesting and there was a lot of yelling and grounding though.

Son never got spanked but he did get disciplined. His pager got smashed with a hammer when he was a junior. The fact he had a Pager should tell you how old he is.

Daughter got one spanking - in 4th grade - four smacks on her bottom with a hairbrush for screaming at me that she hated me.
She was waaay wilder than my son and I should have beaten her every day. 😂🤬
(She agrees with me 🤯)
I don’t think anyone should “beat” their kids. Rules and expectations and consequences don’t have to include physical violence.

My Mom would give us “the look” - especially in church - it’s a Southern thing.
We’d straighten up quick or we got sent out to pick a switch. And she used it. The 50’s were different.

Four smacks on her bottom with a hairbrush. Interesting. I've often seen that spanking can bring about the desired results.

 

[BrianNole777]

You don't see the answer in this post?

My cousin could have used the paddling of a lifetime.

 

[fsufool]

So there’s no nurture in the equation? It’s just a roll of the dice for how kids turn out?

I think the environment is important. Kids that are safe, well fed/clothed and put in with others like them have the best outcomes. But I have seen too many families with diverse outcomes to think it is anything but random. One kid entirely OK, while the other is troubled and trouble. I think twin studies does indicate that environment is a piece of the puzzle. But overall it is a bell curve with the vast majority of kids within 2 standard deviations. The ends of that curve is what separates out and the left side is every parents nightmare.