Creating Little Monsters

Some of the best arguments for using a smack as part of loving parental correction come from the children of those who will not smack.

Good gracious me Deborah! What kind of little monster are you foisting upon an unsuspecting society?! Deborah doesn't want her little Mea to fear her as a parent. Well that's a nice thought, but when you read on and find out what sort of issues Deborah has with Mea you wonder who is running the show.

Now, of course, our wilful daughter seems intent on testing our resolve. On a daily basis, we contend with screaming and tantrums, along with the regular declaration "No!" There are the refusals to put on a seat belt, eat dinner, stop putting half-eaten fruit on the carpet, tidy up toys, have a shower, stay in bed and much more. We know that much of the behaviour is consistent with the developmental stage and it will change.

A few times now we have sat in the car, stationary, while we persuaded Mea of the need to have her seat belt on before we drove anywhere. Of course, it's tedious to have to sit there and wait but in those moments humour works wonders. It diffuses the tension as well as enabling us to illustrate our point and get Mea to comply. Making a joke of how silly we are for having to sit there seems to work. She's also concerned about a policeman giving us a fine.

For goodness sake woman! You are the parent and Mea is the child! You are in charge! You are meant to train your child, not be trained by her. Some people might be happy to have their households run by two year olds - but I and the vast majority of people are not. Two year olds need direction - not this "You're my equal" dialogue rubbish.

It baffles me that Deborah wanted to have her model of child-raising published. It does nothing to convince me that smacking is not necessary. Rather I was more convinced that now and again a smack is probably quite a good thing to prevent your child ruling the roost and becoming an absolute monster.