rat

As a young boy and young man, my father was on the receiving end of quite a few "whoopings" as my grandfather called them. Not with my grandfather's hand, but rather with a leather belt. The belt got used as my father increased in age and size. My father, being on the receiving end of those blows (only to the buttocks, never anywhere else), vowed to never strike his children.

When my sister was 18 months old, she spilled her cheerios and milk all over the floor of my mother and father's kitchen. My father screamed--once. My sister never got out of line in any significant way again while our parents were in sight. So yea, there are times when spanking is not needed with certain children.

Then I came along. I was hell on wheels for my parents, and never seemed to learn any of the lessons they taught me--especially concerning my behavior. My father used to give me whoopings with his hand, but as I got larger, the belt came out of the loops and was applied to my ass. And still I misbehaved. But far more than I ever got whooped, the sheer threat of one would still my bickering, cut short my protests and improve my behavior--even if I was only with my mother. I got my last whoopin when I was 14. Some people say that by that age, whoopings loose their instructive capability and the child is too old for them. I beg to differ, and do so wholeheartedly.

Sitting here, at the age of 20, I realize that compared to other children that cut up in school, in stores, threw shitfits wherever they went when they didn't get their way, my parents had me trained. I fucked up, they let me know about it, and then my dad let me know why I shouldn't again. As a six year old, I couldn't comprehend that combining lighter fluid and strike-anywhere-matches out back of my grandparents house could create a serious problem if I didn't watch it very closely. But I could sure as hell comprehend "Go cut your own switch" coming from my grandfather when it came time that I thought about doing it again.

As it stands, I've had the pleasure of teaching kids from the ages of 3 to 12. I taught swimming to these kids, and I brooked no insolence from them. I told them in plain terms, in exactly the manner my father had, what they would and would not do, and what would happen if they did not do as they should. I sat more children on the side of my lessons than any other instructor. Kids that came into my classes causing problems for their parents in our pool area left my class behaving better than they had before. I had the most tightly controlled classes but the most freedom to do with my kids what I wanted than any other instructor. When they found out that I followed through on my word (even when it came to them being in trouble), they came to trust me when I said something. My kids didn't run, they didn't talk back, and they didn't fight--and I had more returning students than any other teacher for the 9 months or so I taught.

Spanking works, as long as it's done consistently and fairly (kid crosses the line too far, he gets a whoopin), just like any form of discipline.

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