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Laura Mutton's avatar

Well said. Good chapter, called , "You can know from the Bible How Spanking Will Help Your Child Spiritually" in Book Rearing Faithful Children by my husband, Craig Mutton. Ebook available at no cost.

Katy Lenora's avatar

Such a clear and helpful article. Thank you!

Joel's avatar

We had three girl, then two boys. Our girls have complained that their brothers misbehave more but we don't discipline them as much, and our girls particularly note that we went softer on spanking. While it's true that we softened up a bit due to more parental wisdom and more parental tiredness, the biggest reason that we tolerate more misbehavior from our boys is simply that they are less compliant than our girls were. We also spanked less when our boys were younger because spanking seemed to be a less effective means of motivating our boys towards better behavior. If a child isn't so interested in pleasing a parent, it's more difficult to obtain desired behavior through discipline. We could have gone down the route of increasingly greater harshness, but what we really wanted was a change of heart, not coerced external compliance. I tell our girls that I have no magic wand to wave and that I am doing the best I can.

Danielle Krug's avatar

Thank you so much for this. My husband and I have three young boys and we needed these truths.

Eric Rasmusen's avatar

Spanking is most useful not for the strong-willed child, but the weak-willed. It isn't really that painful-- the big effect is psychological. But that wears off if used often.

Eric Rasmusen's avatar

Spanking is most useful not for the strong-willed child, but the weak-willed. It isn't really that painful-- the big effect is psychological. But that wears off if used often.