Spare the rod and spoil the child? - Charles F Vinson - December 1974

Charles F Vinson

Discipline - often misunderstood, often misused - remains the key to successful child rearing. Every parent should understand why. It's not easy to rear children today, especially with so much confusion among the experts. One expert recommends a "permissive" method. Another would be horrified at the thought, insisting that a strict, "no-nonsense" policy is the only road to responsible adulthood. These terms at best are vague, and much is left for private interpretation and debate. But happily, more and more young parents are realizing that rearing a happy, obedient, honest, friendly, bright, uninhibited, talented, respectful (and all those other qualities that parents envision) child does not depend on a magic textbook formula. The most important ingredient is the proper administration of discipline. Parents of all life-styles are discovering that effective and consistent discipline - not necessarily the frequency or physical severity of that discipline - is the secret to child rearing success. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library