Disciplining your child is one of the hardest parts of being a parent. Of course you want to correct negative behaviors in the most productive way possible, but sometimes the words “military school” can sound pretty tempting. How can you be sure the way you discipline your child will produce a happy and healthy adult?
What has happened to parenting with respect to discipline is a much broader problem than is being debated here. During the 1960s and 1970s, a great shift occurred as Baby Boomers challenged not just the way children were being disciplined, but the concept of discipline itself. Their general attitude was that rules stifle creativity. Rather than simply “telling children what to do,” they believed parents should talk with their children instead of “at” them. The family meeting concept, as discussed in the “positive discipline” approach, is an example of this.
The problem with this parenting style is that it eradicates the line between adult and child. Thus, parents and children no longer understand their respective roles. With this clear breakdown of authority (which is evident in our schools as well as our homes), children, and society, pay the price. Writes columnist Leonard Pitts, “Where previous generations were restrictive, baby boomers were permissive. Where previous generations gave orders, baby boomers negotiated. Mothers and fathers had been the parents; baby boomers became equals, co-playmates. And we’re seeing the fruit of that approach. We’re seeing kids who are disconnected, disaffected, materialistic, filled with a misplaced sense of entitlement and sometimes, just flat-out spoiled.”
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