Corporal punishment works, but only on some children.

[micromachine]

" I grew up in an almost totalitarian household which associated strongly with strict corporal punishment. My father showed very little love and my mother was mostly a screaming siren. Now that I think about it, it was because my father was in the army. He was a warrant officer who had a reputation of scolding and breaking down grown men into tears.


He used to scold and cane me all the time. I hated it. I even ended up in the hospital twice. He would never let me stay outside for too long by myself or with friends. When I was in primary school, I had to be home by 7.15pm or else I wouldn't be given any dinner. He would sit there and eat; we would only get to do so at 9. He would beat me and scream at me when I was out of line. Basically imagine growing up in the army from young but instead of doing push ups or running, it would be the receiving the fist or cane.


Of course, today I still resent him. But not as much as you think. Looking back now, I realized that everything he did, he probably had reasons, but was it unreasonably harsh? Yes, I do think so, but was it out of sheer anger? No. I resent him not because he punished me, but because the severity did not fit the crime; I once received 10 stokes of the cane because I failed my spelling. Just a f**king spelling test.


See more at Corporal punishment works, but only on some children.

 

[Agoraphobic]

Sorry to hear of your harsh childhood By contrast, my parents never caned me, I think was an okay kid. Mischievious at times, but wasn't mean or cruel to other kids or animals. In Secondary 3, I received caning from the Vice-Principal of the school for using vulgar language on a school prefect. I felt it was unfair and vandalised his car later that day to get even. I believe that punishment should fit the nature of the "crime", and that for children, corporal punishment should be avoided if there are better ways to get the message through. Good thing these days, we don't see kids being caned as often as before. I'm sure it still happens, but unlike during my school days, we'd see kids coming to school with visible cane marks on their legs.

Cheers!

 

[Dancingking]

spare the rod, spoil the child - timeless truth

 

[Cerebral]

子不教父之过也。。。

 

[laksaboy]

Cane only, how boring.

Last time in the good old days parents would make disobedient kids not have dinner, or rubbed chilli into their eyes, or pressed a lit cigarette into their buttocks.

 

[micromachine]

this one had to watch his father eat dinner, then can only do so later at 9pm. Quite late for a child