For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 27, 2016

I think John needs some discipline too; he needs to stop making Michael overhear his special vocabulary.

I’m surprised John is doing this, since he sort of laughed off Michael’s staring at the neighbor girl through her window.

This was before spanking was outlawed in Canada (my condolences to all Canadian parents)

was that the dreaded “F” Bomb?

Spanking should never have been outlawed! It worked!

@The JamYour facts are wrong – Section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code allows for corporal punishment – a ruling which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004. A full ban is one of the recommendations of theTruth and Reconciliation Commission focusing on the aftermath of residential schools on our First Nations population.

I somewhat agree. It always hurts me to have to inflict pain on someone else. I very,very rarely resorted to physical punishment with my children or my animals….But…..there are times when a kid deserves ( and should get ) a good swat on the butt.

Normally, " The Look and The Point " work very effectively. Occasionally, a raised voice or a sharp command will get their attention. Other times the “silent treatment” works wonders.

But sometimes, reasoning and explanation come after the well deserved smack on the tail.

Kids, dogs, and horses – you have to be smarter than the beast to train it !

Personally I think corporeal punishment should be a very rare thing, only used when the child has really gone beyond the pale, and it should not consist of any more than one good hard swat on the arse. More and it loses it’s shockvalue and you have lost control.

I may throw a (quiet) tantrum about my work to be done….but then I feel better and get down to it. I seem to need that release of “I don’t want to do this, how can I get out of it?” first, then everything falls into place.

Scew a buncha Homework ….I Never did it…Flunked my way through High School with just enough “credts” to graduate…And made the “Dean’s List” in college with a 3.6 gradeaverage (4.0) my last year….If you learn the stuff why have to regurgitate it!

Once when I was about 8 and my brother was 2 I took him down to the river to play. We were forbidden to go there because there was quicksand. My mom caught us and picked a willow switch and switched the back of my bare legs all the way back to the house. Believe me, I NEVER went down to that river again, but other than stinging legs I was certainly not harmed by the procedure. I certainly don’t consider that I was abused.

Ah, the dreaded spanking controversy. I happen to fall on the side of those who think an occasional, well-deserved swat on the butt is a necessary disciplinary tool. Our son was a strong willed child and without the threat of that swat, discipline would have been impossible. Notice that I said “threat”. Once he got spanked, he rarely risked it again. He knew we would follow through on the threat and wasn’t willing to have it happen again. That is exactly how spanking (or any discipline/consequence, for that matter) is supposed to work.

Those who believe that a simple spanking is child abuse will never be persuaded by logic. It is an emotional argument rather than a logical one. We who believe in spanking can tell our experiences and our rationale until we are blue in the face, and we won’t change minds.

The only time my dad turned me over his knee was when I sassed my mom. One thing he couldn’t stand. I recall it consisted of two good swats, and I was mortified! Lesson learned.

Somehow I knew today’s strip would generate extreme reactions on both sides of this issue. To that, I’ll just add that Time Out is the title of a great Dave Brubeck Quartet album, but not a very effective form of discipline.

As long as the child knows that there will be CONSEQUENSES, promptly delivered, whether it be time out in the corner or in his room, doing an odious chore, losing a privilege or a toy, or a swift pop on the rear (I don’t believe in using anything but the palm of the hand on the seat of the problem) there will be discipline! My husband was caretaker for the daughter of friends during the first two years of her life (Yeah, he was a “manny” When Eris refused to comply when he asked her to “come here” he simply picked her up and put her where he wanted her to be. After a while she decided she’d rather come when called. She grew up to be an intelligent, quirky, but polite young lady who still calls him “Uncle Ron”.

My God! When did John grow a spine?

Once the child is trained to CONSEQUENSES, a certain tone of voice or the stinkeye from a parent is usually enough!

John, he’s angry, let him vent and cool down.Pick your battles.

We’d get our cheeks pinched a certain way from mom and a very low-voiced warning to behave. That was enough.

Michael is too old to be spanked at any rate,and John is handling him in a rough manner.I wonder where this is going?

Mark Twain put it this way: “In certain desperate and trying circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer!”

And that was the reason Michael didn’t get his homework done. He complained so much about doing it that his father felt the need to beat him. After that, he couldn’t do his homework because of the physical pain.

76 comments! Dadgum this stupid person who operates as the monitor here. He keeps on erasing my great comments that no one can see. I was up to the hundreds before.

I assumed John was taking Michael to get his mouth washed out with soap. Now THERE’S another can of worms!

Profanity makes you look ignorant and un-educated. Learn to express your anger or frustrations with clear language; much more effective!

“Spare the Rod and Spoil the child” there’s more truth in that than the Damn bleeding hearts know..Check out the Crime stats today….I bit of discipline will never be forgotten …A life of “I am just a victim”" pity Me…is a recipe for a life of grief!

Why spanking doesn’t work:

http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/06/why-spanking-doesnt-work/

Want your kid to stop whatever dangerous/annoying/forbidden behavior he’s doing right now? Spanking will probably work — for now.

But be prepared for that same child to be more aggressive toward you and his siblings, his friends and his eventual spouse. Oh, and get ready for some other antisocial behaviors too.