'Brats Behaving Badly'
Parenting Advice From A Non-Parent

Small ratchet straps would work for the child restraint system: quick and reusable for the green factor.

Amen- preach it brother Brad!!!!!!

Thanks catfish. I hadn't thought of ratchet straps, but I believe they would work quite well. Much better than bungie cords which tend to have a little too much give. An especially wiggly child could squeeze out of them.

Thanks for reading.

Hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed the read!

Newsflash: It is ILLEGAL in 30 States for school employees to hit children with wooden paddles as punishment. In contrast, children in some school districts in the remaining 20 states are "punished" at the whims of the local school boards in 21st Century Classrooms! U.S. Congress is currently holding hearings on Abusive and DEADLY practices in American schools. My 3 children attend schools in an UNRESPONSIVE Paddling School District in Tennessee where middle school students are threatened with physical harm by teachers with wooden paddles with holes drilled into them that are kept in their desk drawers for being late, etc. Students are taken into the hallway just outside the classroom where classmates overhear and are told to "Bend over and grab your ankles" while the teacher grabs there pant belt loops and administers a paddling for minor infractions such as not turning in homework, ALL WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT OR NOTIFICATION! The battered child with red and tear stained face immediately faces their classmates when they return to their seat. No wonder President Obama mentioned some of our states that are directly competing for bottom in the world in education in his vision for education in the 21st century speech! We do not hit our children and believe it or not, they are intelligent, reasonable and well-behaved. My 13-year old son was about to be paddled with 3 other boys for going outside with his class when he was told to stay in, luckily, we have taught our 3 children that NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TOUCH THEM, THEY CAN SAY NO, GET AWAY AND TELL SOMEONE to protect them from SEXUAL ABUSE! He told the assistant principal that she had to call us. We told her that we don't hit out children and did not want them to. She insisted that he must be "PUNISHED" and acceptable non-violent discipline was agreed upon. Hitting kids at schools is a first resort and parents are not notified. Shocking news headlines of children suffering abuse in schools in states that have not ABOLISHED Physical or Corporal Punishment are all too common. We teach children that hitting is not OK or acceptable. Teachers who use weapons/wooden paddles to "PUNISH" our children are powerfully modeling physical assault/violence as the acceptable way to solve problems to our children. Children learn by what we do, not what we say. Teachers who hit children lose all credibility as professionals and are a disgrace to the noble profession of teaching and a grave disservice to the hard earned RESPECT that credible professionals have earned. You don't beat respect into a person, you must earn it by treating others the way you want to be treated, it's mutual! We are working to ABOLISH CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN ALL SCHOOLS IN EVERY STATE. EVERY CHILD MUST HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO A SAFE AND HEALTHY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, FREE FROM THREAT OF PHYSICAL HARM AS PROVIDED IN OUR CONSTITUTION!

I too did a tour under the supervision of Mr. Webb. It was the paddles that ultimately kept me in line. I was much more unruly than Brad was as a waif and made several trips to his office. When Mr. Webb told me the paddle was coming out on the next visit my behavior improved greatly.

My parents "whupped" me. My second grade teacher "whupped" me. I've turned out (I think) to be a productive member of society that respects authority and understands that consequences have actions...

KidsRpeople2

Some professional organizations of physicians and psychologists have suggested that spanking is detrimental and leads to family violence and child abuse. They have suggested that spanking teaches physically aggressive behavior which the child will imitate. But does the research support these assertions? According to the National Institute for Healthcare Research, more than 80 percent of the professional publications attacking spanking were reviews and commentaries, rather than quantitative research. When analyzing the small portion of quantitative studies that included spanking, more than 90 percent of these studies lumped together mild forms of spanking with severe forms of physical abuse without discussing why they did so. Thus, the professional organizations which advocated outlawing spanking evidently made their decisions without the benefit of the facts. Mild spanking and severe child abuse are not the same thing.

While spanking is not illegal, bruising or otherwise injuring a child is. But what about mild spanking as a corrective measure? Is it a good idea? Spanking works best when coupled with other disciplinary measures, such as "time out." Research regarding behavior modification of children ages 2 to 6 found that spanking a child two times on either the rear or thigh helped improve compliance with "time out" for misbehavior. These children were more likely to remain in their room after acting up if a potential spank followed if they left before the time was up. Furthermore, pairing reasoning with a spanking in the toddler years delayed misbehavior longer than did either reasoning or spanking alone. Reasoning linked with a spank was also more effective compared with other discipline methods. Talking with the child about what behavior is expected and why-with the potential of a follow-up spank-worked best.

Altough I fully realize that this does not apply to the school systems, I believe that proper discipline can and should involve spanking and has since the dawn of time! Remember, there is a difference between spanking and child abuse.

Brad,

Excellent read! Satire is indeed a lost art that you are mastering with each subsequent entry. Keep up the good work.

KidsRPeople2,

I loved your show when I was a kid, especially the episode with Cheap Trick as I have become a life long fan of the "little band that could" from Rockford, IL.

You may want to consider the possiblility that maybe, just maybe, I know this is a long shot, there is a slight chance that not everything is about SuperPrez.

OMG...the stories I could tell you. I've worked in restaurants where people will sit their kids at the bar or will sit and drink 3 or 4 drinks while their kid or kids are running around bothering the other customers, then proceed to drive the "little angels" home.

I just wonder sometimes if people feel like "public people" are their impromptu babysitters. There are a lot of people who really don't care what their children are doing much less how it reflects on them, believe it or not.

The next time you go to a restaurant, watch the person with kids and see if their children are well-mannered or well-behaved or even sit properly in thier seat throughout the meal. I can almost guarantee you that it will not happen.

And please don't trip on my soapbox on the way out, but I really am beginning to wonder if the people that have children are the people that should be allowed to breed. Look at society now, can you imagine what it's gonna be like in ten to fifteen years when these "little angels" grow up? We're doomed.

I got spanked by hickory switches, belts, flyswatters and the good old fashion hand (only when needed: which was quite often). I have never been in legal trouble, been abusive to anyone or have anything but respect for my folks.

Excellent explanation Greywolf. Proper discipline is a wonderful thing.

Bring back the corporal punishment in the schools!! *giggle* Brother.

How many times have you done something and received a punishment- eg:don't touch a hot pan, you do and it burns you-did that make you want to repeat or did you learn, same with electrical outlets-don't mess with, but if you do and live -chances are you will not repeat that activity. The same with a reprimand, either with a switch, fly swatter, spatula or belt. Most kids receiving the working end will learn that for every action there is a reaction. The world has gone down hill for ages and the lack of parental discipline, as well as school discipline baffles me. I was on the receiving end of spankings and no I don't hate my Dad or Mother, I respected them, turned out to be a good person -have never abused anyone in anyway. There are many who the only way to get their attention is by a swift smack on the bottom. The Bible says "spare the rod and spoil the child" and America is full of the spoiled, we need to be accountable for our actions.

Brad, you are on target with this blog, keep up the good work and keep speaking the truth.

Ahhh, Missouri law. Lovely thing. Don't discipline your child. Let them run loose so that they can be housed by Missouri later on in a sweeeeet little cell with bars on it.

By the way, Me'Lange, you can be swatted with any of the above mentioned things and not leave a mark. It will leave an impression on the thought process of repeating the wrong action though.

Wow, and I thought some of my blogs could be wordy. Obviously, KidsRPeople2, you care a great deal for your children. That's good. However, over the years I've observed ever increasing numbers of children who act up in public and the parents are either nowhere to be found or completely clueless. Discipline is non-existent.

While I wrote this blog mainly in jest (please note the title of this blog is "The Irony of it All") and to ridicule a celebrity writing on a subject he apparently knows little about, I don't think that legislating away juvenile discipline is the answer. Children need to be taught good behavior and too many of the juveniles who I see out in public appear to have none. If the parents aren't going to instill some sense of proper behavior in their off-spring, then who?

Based on my observations, it seems that a lot of kids seem to think Johnny Knoxville and his crew of cretins from MTV are good role models, and I think that is wrong.

Thanks for reading and ranting.

Swatting does not equal BEATING!! IMO the statement that Beating a child and swatting a child are the same thing is ridiculous and a large cause of the youth running wild and doing whatever they feel like with no regard to anyone else's property or well being. And ppl wonder why the juvenile buildings are overflowing with kids...

Me'Lange, I can guarantee that you can be swatted with those and not leave a mark. I have been swatted with them all and then some.

I have raised my children with a mixture of swattings and hugs. Seems like they are not scarred for life! Amazing, I know. Even with all the "beatings" they received, they have become happy, law abiding, loving adults with no lasting mental, emotional, or physical scars of their horrible childhood.

Actually, Mel, I was talking specifically to KidsRPeople2. She wrote the biggest paragraph, I've ever seen. Might even have to notify Guinness for their next book (Or have one. Maybe both). It took me a while to respond to her and by then a dozen other posts had shown up.

But please, feel free to rant if you wish. Keeps things interesting.

TFR

Agree to disagree on this one. I do not think that just because something worked when we were children, that it can't stil work now. (FYI: and it does) A fist to the face is completely different than a swat to the clothed behind of a child. IMO, that is where you are not understanding my point of view. You seem to believe any form of physical discipline must be abusive and done with anger and with the sole intent of causing major harm. As I said, it worked with my children, but I agree that it probably does not work with all. But I do feel that it should be an option that the state of Missouri should not be able to take away from parents.

I personally was spanked at school in 7th grade with a wood paddle that had the holes drilled in. The teacher hit my butt so hard with it that it did indeed break the paddle (I'm not kidding!) The teacher was so proud of that he hung that broken paddle on the wall and no kid in school misbehaved in his class after that. Was I hurt? Oh for about 5 minutes it stung. Was I abused or warped for the rest of my life over it? NO!!!!!! I deserved that spanking because I was a real smart a$$ to my teacher. I learned my lesson by it. That spanking incident was a lesson to the entire class! I have no ill feelings toward that teacher and never did.

Even the Bible says "spare the rod, spoil the child."

By the way that teacher later became the principal. He was a very good man and deserved his promotion. He was well respected by all of the students, even me after that!

While personally I don't practice corporal punishment on my children, I'm not going to tell other parents not to.

I will say that if my kid ever came home and told me that they recieved corporal punishment in school, I would probably practice a little corporal punishment of my own on said punisher.

That being said, I am totally engaged with my children's schools, including the exchange of cell phone numbers, and I expect to be notified before Mr. Holland has an opus!

I was a little turd in school, but I never got a whipping by a teacher. That pleasure was reserved for my parents whenever I got home.

For every whipping I received, I deserved at least four more for the crap that I didn't get caught at.

Communication is key in any relationship, including our kids. Talk to them, and treat them like the individuals that they are.

Nil, you know what they say, your children are 3x worse than you ever thought of being. Good luck! ☻

I think it's perfectly fine to use corporal punishment on your child. Some kids it just doesn't work to try to "reason" with them. I'm not saying you should beat your child to within an inch of their life, but sometimes a spanking can help reinforce a lesson that's already been taught to the kid over and over.

I don't think a parent should ever spank their child when they're angry. I also think the child should be given a couple of warnings before corporal punishment is used. Don't just go into the arguement fired up and swinging.

When I was a child, we would be sent to our room, given a lecture, or grounded from our TV first. Then if the lesson still didn't sink in, and we did whatever it was again, we got a spanking. It wasn't that the spanking hurt us physically, it was more of our pride that got taken down a notch. And sure enough after that, chances were, we didn't try it again.

You are entitled to your opinion, but that does not change the FACT that Corporal Punishment is ILLEGAL IN SCHOOLS in 30 STATES or all of the SHOCKING news headlines of abuse of children by school employees in states where the practice is legal and frequently used. Physical or Corporal Punishment is HEAVILY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PORNOGRAPHY INDUSTRY, just type corporal punishment or spanking into any internet search engine to verify. There is a PUBLICLY FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOL, the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences that made news headlines recently for disciplining Middle/High School students during an assembly on Fridays called "Chapel" where students are taken on a stage and hit with a wooden paddle by their 6'6'' former football player principal and/or have their hands whipped with leather straps IN FRONT OF ALL THE OTHER STUDENTS AS A DETERRENT TO PUBLICLY INDUCE SHAME/HUMILIATION AND FEAR AS AN INTIMIDATION TACTIC! The "Educators" and "Administrators" of this PUBLICLY FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOL state their "Discipline" practices are within Tennessee State Laws, which do not require parental consent or notification when minor children are physically punished at SCHOOL!

LOL! Wow that last comment was a mouthful huh? Why do people see the need to CAPSLOCK words, especially that often? It sure makes it hard to read.

I bet they're one of those people who will smile and nod when someone else voices their opinion but as soon as that person stops to take a breath, they cut in with a "Yeah, you're entitled to your opinion but here is my opinion.." Then continues on to shove their opinion down the other person's throat until they finally concede and agree with them, just to shut them up.

I know quite a few people like that. And it's really quite sad. They would probably have more friends if instead of using the same examples and information over and over to support their claim/opinion until the other person gives in, they would voice their opinion let the other person speak their side and then both agree to disagree.

But...that's just my opinion ;)