...I was with my Dad having a cup of coffee at a McDonald's in a not-great part of Cincinnati. He loves the place at night. And he loves just chatting about life.
A small red-headed boy rushes past us, followed by a 40-ish woman comes darting across our field of view, arm cocked back ready to smack a kid, who has her cell phone. "Don't make me really give it to you!"
My Dad and I crack up. Hitting kids isn't a good thing. But we appreciated the extent to which she was willing to go. Our opinion of her be damned.
I can't but feel that more parents should have the right to discipline kids the way they should. Too much of our judgment nowadays prohibits them to dole out what sometimes needs to be done. I would guess, better to give them the tap now than have them be tapped in prison later. But I'm no parent. And I realize my limitations. To beat a child is wrong. To whoop one on the tuckus when he steals your cell phone isn't the end of the world. There are degrees to these things. She clearly loves her child...that frustrates her so much. The more the borders start to widen, the more we're going to see issues in school. My sister doesn't discipline my nephew that much. In the case of my nephew, there is at least safety nets with me, my parents and even my other sister. In the case where you're left on your own as a single parent, it's hard to be pissy to someone trying so hard.
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