I am tired of spoiled brats, bullying, and spiteful kids.  I’m sick and tired of parents who think their kids are perfect and they can do no wrong.  Sorry, I’ve watched your kids do horrible things and you were not anywhere in sight. 

     As a child, my bedroom didn’t have a TV, computer, and a phone.  I didn’t even have my own room, I shared a room with two sisters.  I didn’t have my own room until I was in the ninth grade.  The only entertainment in there was a bookcase full of books.  Still, being sent to our room was not the worst punishment.  I don’t see being sent to the child of today’s room as a punishment at all unless all electronics are removed first.

     We had a curfew too, “be within sight of the house when the street lights go on.”  Dad checked too.  If we weren’t right outside the house, all hell broke loose.  School nights, we were inside by eight and in bed by nine.  This was rough on a night owl like me.  

     If we broke the rules we got punished.  Grounded, spanked, sent to our rooms, sent to our rooms with no dinner, required to pay reparations for any damages from our own pockets or by some form of physical labor–these were the common punishments.  What did these punishments do for us?  They taught us consequences for our actions.  The worse our actions, the worse the punishment.

     Looking at many kids today and how they act in public gives us a huge clue that ‘time outs’ and ‘using our words’ doesn’t work.

     Being told to ‘go cut a switch’ by our Grandfather or Grandmother was the worst punishment we could think of on any day.  It wasn’t so much the two or three swats we got from the switch, it was the process of having to cut one that hurt more. It especially worked well when you had a grandfather like ours who made you go back several times to get a ‘good one’ before the swats.  And they were swats not beatings.  Some psychological stress and a little sting on our butts brought us into line quickly.

     It didn’t teach us to be physically violent with others.  In fact, if we were physically violent with pets or people, that came under the list of the worst things we could do, thus the punishment was the harshest.

     I think if you heard “oh, boy you’re gonna get it now” in your head when you only thought of doing something wrong, they were doing something right. 

     You all have a good one!

     It’s bad enough when I lose a word or my train of thought derails in a fatal wreck.  However, when I draw a blank on what to post here I am truly screwed.

     Banging my head on the keyboard does nothing to knock things loose either, except maybe a few keys.  Screaming only wakes the dogs and The Curmudgeon and makes all three cranky.

     Another cup of coffee…

     Yes, that might do the trick since the dogs and The Curmudgeon woke me a good hour before my alarm would’ve gone off.  At least the Curmudgeon was happy the furniture people brought a replacement for his new chair which decided to fall apart within weeks of arrival.

     I’ve noticed that this chair makes much less noise when he lowers the footrest…

     That’s all I’ve got folks, you have a good one!

     I stopped at my regular gas station to fill up the new van, I was down to below a half a tank.  I pulled into the full service as I always do–I have a sensitivity to gas fumes that brings on a migraine.  The service man knows me and my old van, so when I opened my window and leaned out as he came around the back, I managed to surprise him.

     “Squeee, new van.”  I told him.

     “Nice one!”  He said.

     While the tank filled, I showed him all the neat features.  Funny how we all seem to point out the clock and how coolly elegant it is.

     You all have a good one!

     Patience, practice, praise, and a few treats.  Carefully enunciated words accompanied with hand signals and praise, praise, praise when they get it right.  Well, sometimes you need to hold back on the praise because they get a bit too cocky.  That’s when you treat them instead.  Whatever you normally serve them is fine.

     You can use phrases like good boy and atta boy, especially when they accomplish something difficult.  There’s nothing like the way they look at you for approval when they do something they think is difficult–like putting the seat down on the toilet.

     Yes, we’re talking the training of husbands here not the dogs.  Even the most stubborn of dogs is much easier.

     You all have a good one!