by April-Lynn Logan

Created on: May 26, 2009

I was a terror of a child. The expression that was used most often was, "she is too smart for her own good." Given that information, I knew from an early age that words would not hurt me.

At the ripe old age of 4 I decided that it would be a good idea to cook breakfast for my mom. Now cereal was not going to suffice, I needed to make eggs. When my mother got out of bed I had fried her up some eggs using the stove which required me to pull up one of the kitchen chairs. My mom was upset when she had awoken and found me in the kitchen. I was determined that there was nothing that I could not do, age was irrelevant.

Now this is a safety issue. What would have happened if the grease had caught fire? Now simply sitting me down and telling me that I was too young, would not have worked. I knew what I could do and have trouble understanding the fact that just because you knew how to do it does not mean that you can. The fear of a spanking on the other hand, worked wonders. My mom did not spank me regualrly or harshly. I would feel it but most of the time the threat was what would put me into line.

My sister on the other hand was different. You raised your eye brow at here and she would burst into tears. She was kept in line by the fear of making my parents upset. This did not work very well for me. When things happened and I tried to lie about it. The conclusion was always the same, your sister would never do that. Sometimes I would rope her into my shinanigans, and my mom always knew.

I am not saying that any parent has the right to beat a child, but a healthy spanking is not the same. A child is born with no fears. I would go play in traffic because I did not understand that I could be hurt. Now there is some lessons that a child can learn on their own but playing in traffic is not one of them. When your child goes to run into the road you need to correct this action immediately.

Now I realize that times have changed, that because of some parents using their children as a punching bag that laws had to be made. My observations on the other hand have caused me to worry. I see children running wild in the grocery store while the stressed parents try to reason with them. The children are not listening at all. In the grocery store, for the most part, the worst that is going to happen is that the parents will have to pay for broken merchandise. Now let's move this some where else, how about a crowded train station? what happens if the children make it onto the platform. Would they cross the yellow line while a train came in? This thought scares me.

I would say that some children do not require strict discipline but others do.

Learn more about this author, April-Lynn Logan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.