Math's Girl's Ode to Discipline! :) -- Dracut Information Resource Forum

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Date Posted: 19:43:47 10/18/01 Thu
Author: Math Girl
Subject: Math's Girl's Ode to Discipline! :)
In reply to: DUH 's message, "Re: you need to be honest with your children.." on 14:29:30 10/08/01 Mon

Ah, you have touched on a subject near and dear to my heart! Make room on the soap box for me!! Here I go!

Thumbs up to Kelly and DUH. It's refreshing to hear someone actually still cares enough to discipline their kids. What is this New Age "be their friend" crap?? As my mother used to tell me, "I'm not your friend. You have enough friends. I'm the boss, I'm the mother, and I call the shots." Kept me from developing a prison record.

My mother was a powerful disciplinarian, and as we were Jewish, she also had a good dose of guilt to wield over our heads. She had many other skills though that I now marvel at. My mother, you see, had perfected, "The Look". You know what this is . . . a nonverbal cue that is often portentious of yet more potent than corporal punishment. Yep, one look and whatever stunt you were pulling, you stopped. PERIOD. She never asked if we "WANTED" to obey (I hear that often, people asking their kids permission), nor did she ever promise us we would get things for being good. While we wouldn't get $1 for every A or .50 for every B on our report card, we would get grounded for anything below the B mark!

Another favorite line of my mother's was, "Being good is its own reward". This was her standard response when I would ask why we didn't get $$ for good grades or presents every time we didn't bellow in the local K-Mart/Kriege store. She explained that in life, you don't get a reward from your boss or your spouse or every time you're good. Period.

Of course, I decided at the time I was surely a victim of child abuse. Forget world hunger and disease--I didn't get rewards every time I did as I was told. POOR ME!! Where is my tiny stratovarius?

The final thing my mother told me often was, "When you get older you will be just like me!" I am!!! I am on this board right now, ranting about how we need more discipline. ROFL!

My likeness to my mother came home to me in a strong way the other day when I indignantly asked a younger colleague at work, "And just who is this KORN (the musical group)and why can't they SPELL?? Didn't they pass the MCAS??" ;)

Sigh. Just things I ruminate about in my old age as I walk past the screaming, insolent kids in the stores threatening to call the cops on their parents if the parents dare to discipline.

Thanks Kelly and all you other concerned moms for taking the time and energy to do the world's hardest job-parenting.

Math Girl

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