by Joanne Smith

Created on: January 16, 2010

Children and discipline have been a topic of interest for centuries.  The use of physical force versus time outs and the level in which discipline needs to be carried out are all under the microscope.

As a child I grew up in an extremely loving home.  My mother wore her heart on her sleeve and showed her children as much love as they could take in.  Her words were sometimes brisk, and her tone often indicated anger, but there were never words that could not be taken back.  Her hands would seldom tap us on our rears, so rare in fact that I remember only one instance of getting my bottom spanked for leaving our property without telling her.  My mother babysat more children that I can remember the names of while I grew up.  I watched her patient and loving ways spill over to them.  I learned early that if my mother was having a difficult or frustrating day it was a day we were sent outside to play.  I knew if my mother was in a playful mood that it was a good idea to tackle her and play chase around the house, laughing all the while.  Her body language, her tones and even the way in which she maneuvered her eye brows all became my childhood.  I absorbed her gentle voice and her attempts at making us, the children laugh when we wanted to cry.  I vividly remember the “Oopsey daisy!” statement she would call out to us when we tripped, allowing us to quickly get up without a big show, unless of course we were really hurt. 

It wasn’t until I had my own three children that I realized how much my mother impacted the way I am as both a woman and as a mother.  I find myself stroking my children’s hair when they are tired, the same thing my own mother did with me.  I find myself taking a deep breath when I am being interrupted for the millionth time, a deep breath that my mother took when I was little and begging for her attention.  I hear “Oopsey daisy!” coming out of my lips when my children fall, and “No big deal!” flowing out of my mouth when something accidently spills, the same words I heard growing up.  I have recently began hearing my junior and senior kindergarten children repeating some of my phrases and I am amazed that my mother’s words are coming around for a third generation and I wonder how many generations they date back to.

Following my youth I chose to be educated in Early Childhood Education.  I learned not only child

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>