From Gen-X to Generation Creampuff

While walking through the grocery store the other day, I noticed a changing trend in certain areas of parenting that really raised my unibrow.  An unruly child of around 6-7 years was running around mercilessly while grabbing products off of shelves, screaming, and overall being a little brat.  The little bastard almost ran into my shopping cart and then proceeded to block my path to the tub of lard or whatever unhealthy food I was aiming to get that day.  When I saw the little whipper snapper's mother, she had no interest in what her child was doing or who this kid was disturbing.  It brought back memories of my youth when a nice stern ass whooping could be administered anytime and most certainly anywhere.  Back in my childhood, if an observing mother saw a spanking being given to a misbehaving child, that mother more than likely made sure her kids were watching as an example of what would happen if they acted up.  Nobody called 911, Child Protective Services weren’t involved, and the disciplined kid probably wouldn't pull another stunt like that again.   I seem to recall that my uncle, who raised me during these times, always wore the right sized pants, but had his belt on as a deterrent to bad behavior for us.  This made me wonder about a few things.  Are we as parents being too soft on our children?  Are we raising our kids to be a bunch of cry babies who would rather talk to a counselor or lawyer to solve their problems than solve them on their own?  The common measure to install discipline in a child these days is to put them in "time out".  First of all, I would have given up just about anything as a kid to be put in time out over a visit with the belt any day.  I'm not saying that this method doesn’t work but what would you rather face as an adult; the electric chair or a little time in a jail cell?  I also seem to remember as a kid that when we were sent outside to play or ride our bikes, we didn’t have to put on battle armor to do these activities.  If you see any kid riding a bike nowadays you can be positive that they will have a helmet on with knee pads, elbow pads, shin guards, mouth piece, neck brace, flashlight, and anything else to protect them should they fall.  Are we sending them out to ride a bike or joust?  Are they gonna slay a dragon at the end of their journey?  I took my lumps with the best of them and we had the solution for any spills or falls I took.  It was a package of band-aids and some hydrogen peroxide.  Remember, scars define you.   They also lead to great stories of how you got them.  For me, the worst example of bringing up a super soft society is happening in the youth sports world.  Basic adopted rules over the years have insured that every player on the team plays in every game and everyone receives a trophy at the end of the season.  You have got to be kidding me.  For us, if you sucked at the sport you kept the bench warm for the good players. That was your job on the team.  You showed up to practice, made an ass of yourself, and the coach made sure you wouldn't play on game day.  I know kids that got more action on picture day than any other time in the season.  I'm pretty sure they were only let on the team to sell candy bars during fund raising time.  Then, at the end of the season if your team wasn't good, you watched the good teams get a trophy and gloat while you prepared for the next sport to come around.  There was no E for effort.  There was no gold star for playing.  As we move forward and as birth control becomes as irrelevant as a cassette tape, take a pledge to make sure your kids have what it takes in this dog eat dog world. It's tough out there.  They need to know that in the real world, there is no trophy for second place.  Give them the tools to not accept failure as an option.  Make them tough enough to face the battles that are ahead of them.  Most of all, let’s give the belt the respect it deserves.  Let it do the job that the sadistic leather smith truly intended it to do.  Before you do, let me suggest that it's done in the privacy of your own home where a phone isn't available.  Happy parenting!