Tough Love

Like other parents my age, we grew up in an era of the "belt on the butt discipline". And believe me our generation is way more respectful, responsible, we had work ethics, I don't think the kids now a days even know what that means. I've come to realize that it's all our fault, We're too busy trying to protect our children from the way we had it. Maybe you were poor, or parents were druggies or alcoholics, or whatever it might be. We take whatever it is and we say I'll never raise my kids like this, or my kids will have it way better than I did. Well I feel the same way, however do you remember when your Mom or Dad were mad at you for whatever and that feeling that you would have in your heart, you would try to avoid seeing or talking to them for a while, hoping they'll forget...that feeling in your chest is fear and disappointment mixed together. As a kid do you remember doing something wrong and saying "oh man, I'm so in trouble". Listen, to feel like that your parents had installed a sense of fear in you, for every time you mess up you were nervous of the end result. And mostly it was disappointing your parents that would hurt the most.

In these days you can't use the "belt on the butt technique", you might lose your children, so I don't advise that as the way to go, I'm using the sit on the toilet method, basically having to tell them to stop doing something more than 3 times "go sit on the toilet", and it's usually for only 2 mins, it's like a Hockey penalty. So now when they start getting out of control I just suggest "Oh do you guys want to go sit on the toilet?" And of course it's a quick "No" and a quick shape up, for a little while anyways. This seems to be working, I explain to them what they have done wrong and they'll have a couple of minutes to think about it. I will give an update in a couple Months or so. (maybe sooner)