Discipline

I used to think that spanking was the most effective form of punishment, due to the way I've seen parents that don't use this form of discipline treat their children in public. Countless times have I seen a child running around a restaurant, shoving past people as he or she laughed loudly, and countless times have I seen the parents react to this by... counting. "One... Two..." The child still laughs, still cuts up. Why? Because they know three isn't coming, and even if it does, nothing will happen to them anyway.

However... while I hate to be influenced so heavily by one simple telivision show,having watched a few episodes of "Super Nanny" has changed my feelings on spanking a little. I still see nothing wrong with it (in controlled amounts), but if discipline and good behaivior could be taught without it... why not? I think the most important thing I've learned with the show is to get the child's attention. Bring yourself down face-to-face with them, look them in the eyes, and tell them straight-forward that you mean business.

Of course, I've also noticed a trend in this show. The worst of the children have parents that simply do not pay attention. From the mom that won't stop watching soap operas long enough to tend to her children, to the father that does nothing but get online all day, to the parents that go on business trips and don't even care to call their family, it seems the worst of behavior problems are due to parents not giving their children parents.