This posted in one of the blogs I read – “BAD NICK” – This guy does a good job of writing and his short “rants” in this blog are almost always well worth the read. In this post he tackles a problem many of us have endured. I would venture to say that his scenario of being in a restaurant was mild compared to some that can be equated. Try the same thing but be locked in an airplane for a 9 hour flight! Be the passenger in a seat just in front of two young kids (probably 5 or 6 ) that seem to have ants in their seats and persist in kicking, banging, whining, playing football, or just generally being a nuisance. I have had to explain to the parents and the flight attendant that I packed my “TOLERANCE” in the checked bag, and would not be able to use it until we reach our destination, so unless they wanted two kids setting on their laps for the rest of this flight they better get them to stop or swap seats. I like his explanation and it is worth reposting here – you should read the whole post at his site on the link above – WD0AJG.
“I’m old enough and cranky enough that I have been known to tell a parent that if they’d just spank the damn kid once, they might find out that they are raising a whole new child. You can give a kid all the timeouts in the world and get nowhere, but set their butt on fire just once, and you’ll see better results.
Don’t try to tell me that spanking a kid’s butt when he deserves it is child abuse, or that it will damage a kid’s psyche. My parents never hesitated to discipline their kids, and none of us grew up to be an ax murderer. Heck, most of us even fit pretty well into polite society! Why, just look at what a squared away citizen I am!”