The Battle of Discipline

There is probably a huge debate on this and well, it's a big deal I would say.

Old School Spanking

Ah, the good old days. Kids were playing outside till the night time. We were free without a care in the world. We had no cell phones, so if you weren't back home at a certain time, well that wouldn't be a good sign.

You creep slowly in the door hoping you don't get caught because you're five minutes late from your curfew. Your pops is waiting for you telling you were gonna get it.

You turn around and he spanks you. He tells you, its for your own good and one day you will learn respect. In the old days, they said getting hit was a part of growing up. Timeouts consisted of you sitting in a chair staring at a wall, or just going to your room and being bored out of your mind not being able to go outside and play.

Welcome to Discipline Today

Welcome to the future. Where instead of kids playing outside with their friends, they are stuck inside playing with their tablets. So how does spanking get involved with this?

Well, let's see. In today's age, there is so much technology for kids, so they will start getting a little demanding. Their behavior starts to act up. They think they can do whatever they want and when you - the parent tell them what to do, that's when they act up. So what should you do?

In the old days, if we talked back to our parents we would get a good smack in the face.

Don't you dare disrespect your parents. You don't talk back to us and listen to what we say.

If you were to hit your child today, well that won't be pretty for you. You will probably get Child Protective Services knocking at your door. Believe me—no one wants that to happen.

So what can we do as parents to not raise our kids to be jerks in society?

Rather Than

I believe in not spanking and trying other reinforcements. Although, I have been told I have been too easy for doing this and that I am weak, I try to figure out ways in which there won't be any abuse but understanding. Sometimes my procedure works, and sometimes it's bad.

For Instance:

• Tantrums In The House - If the child is yelling consistently and not obeying what I am asking or demanding, then I take the tablet away and put them on a timer. I start with a half hour. If they don't listen then I keep on adding 15 minutes. Most of the time it works.
• Hitting or Biting - First of all when there are at least 2 - 3 children in the house, prepare for a rumble when it comes to sharing. Most of the time I try to separate them if they get out of hand. When all else fails I go to the tablet, take it away and put them on a timer.
• Yelling In The Car - You bring their tablets to occupy them on road trips, yet they somehow manage to go insane yelling. I decided to make a playlist for them and put all their favorite songs in the car or we make conversation.
• Sitting to eat at a restaurant - This is the most difficult one. Sometimes I see parents struggling to keep their kids calm in a restaurant. This is still a struggle for me. I've tried bringing their tablets with them or I put something on my phone for them to watch. Still working on that one.

When the Public Makes a Comment

This is really where I draw a line. I have heard and experienced, where people will say a negative comment such as:

You need to smack your child

Or

What is wrong with your children?

My answer back is:

You obviously never have had kids.

I get very angry with people like that. And most of the time you hear those phrases from people who really don't have kids of their own and don't like to be around them. Not my problem.

I always feel for the parents that are going through what I go through, and I just give them that nod like I know exactly what you are going through. You are not alone.

So the next time you see parents struggling somewhere with their kids just know, the struggle is very real and they are trying their hardest to provide a decent future for their children. It's all about patience. Not abuse and not to live in fear. The old days are over. It's time to try a new approach to help make life easier.