She thinks that she is more informed on how to raise children because she is a mother. There are definitely qualified mothers, but she's wrong. Just look at her. Her daughter is rifling thru her purse in search of candy she already told her that she doesn't have. Her two oldest sons are hitting each other and then yelling for attention. The youngest is in her arms. Did I neglect to mention the cigarette in her mouth?
I think I'm qualified to tell you how to raise children because I was one. I still remember. I know that my parents did a pretty good job. We can put together a list of things that qualify me as a successful child rearing:
1) I am a productive member of society. (I am not in jail, I do not claim welfare or unemployment --before you argue with me that claiming welfare or unemployment isn't wrong, please remember that you are on a computer and connected to the internet and that your children are hungry.)
2) I have a job, and am capable of holding said job for more than 45 days at a time. (Years, in fact. The shortest job span I've ever had was with Burger King, when I was 14 years old, and made the decision to switch to McDonalds after 3 months of employment. I also don't quit at the drop of a hat.)
3) I pay my bills.
Now, I never went to college, but I did complete high school, so coming as far as I have is a testament to the kind of job my parents did with me.
Not to say that they're perfect, because they're not. And not to say that I'm perfect, because I'm not.
But I am respectful, for the most part, and I don't have an enlarge sense of entitlement.
There is one thing that I see wrong with today's children, and it's that we're afraid to discipline them. Some parents do take it too far, and there are more than a few document cases of abuse. But how is it that you always here those stories about the guy getting arrested for spanking his child for throwing a fit, and the guy down the street who whups on his kid everyday never gets investigated by CPS?
Know what? Your parents' parents were pretty cool. They ended up productive. I also guarantee you that they got railed at least once a week. Maybe they didn't even know what for. Just a *whack* and a stern "you know what you did" and the kid straightens out. And those kids, when told to take out the trash, were zero to trash gone in 5 seconds or less. Usually accompanied by a "Yes, Sir."
They knew how to work. I'm not saying that you should raise your children like that, I'm just saying that there really isn't anything wrong with showing your children that there is a penalty for being a fuck up.
In my memory, I don't have very many occasions to recall where my dad un-cinched his belt or raised his hand, though my mother did her fair share of it. I could tell you my father's favorite story.
Remember Caldor? We were in one, and I was in the middle of throwing a fit. I wanted some toy, and by some virtue of psychology, I decided that I could best acquire this toy by annoying and embarrassing my parents until they agreed to purchase it.
Rather than give in to this, my father took no less than 2 seconds to lift me by the rear of my pants and give me a good *whack* on the rear for good measure. It shut me up.
Everything in the Caldor stopped, and my mother whispers to my father, "You can't do that, someone will call the police."
My father, in this position, becomes the Malcolm X of properly punishing your child. He shouts, "Let them call the fucking cops, we'll see if they can take me in for teaching my child right from wrong. I'll go to jail. Gladly. But I won't be a bad father." Activity resumed and life went on. I also knew better than to throw another fit like that again.
The funny thing is, I see parents preach positive reinforcement. While I agree to a certain extent, the fact is, you cannot continue to reward your child for what is expected behavior. You also cannot ignore your children when they continue to do wrong. It might not encourage the behavior, but how does he know not to do it again?
So from me to you, discipline your children. Or expect them to live with you until you die... or they kill you for the insurance money.
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