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Aunt Norie’s Sewing Room

By Eleanor Mckee - | Apr 1, 2009

We have some great kids out there and we all know it. I get more and more feedback on that subject, asking me to continue “harping on it,” one gentleman said. “This thing of spanking, just mention the word and too many who have never had a child can shout the loudest,” he continued, and he said it so well.

I will try to convey his thoughts, as he told how just a swat with a noisy newspaper, like training a puppy, gets attention, and that’s basically all we need to do to get their attention, let them know we care, we heard that, we just don’t do that, we just don’t throw tantrums. We have rules, curfews, we are a family, we all count and we work together.

Dr. Spock got the credit, at first as I remember, and then the blame, just talk to them, he said, talk to a small child as though he were an adult, but never, never lay a hand on, never spank. Well, folks, there’s a world of difference between a spanking and a beating.

As a result we have too many children and young adults who have never learned what the word respect means. They have no respect for any rules of any kind, their parents, their teachers, the law of the land; no respect even for themselves many times.

The above, however, I believe covers only a small percent of our youth but that’s too much. We have some of the world’s finest, great leaders among them. I’m thinking of the school room and the dedicated teacher who has to take so much time trying to control a few; instead of teaching, she has to send home tons of homework.

The kids know it so well. I worked with Johnson County’s Living History group for several years, following a VISTA assignment in 1984 and 1985. I was speaking to a group of three fifth-grade classes at Blue Valley South, watching one teacher separate three small lads, her problem guys, I knew right off. My subject was the one-room schools of years ago.

“Oh and we could get a spanking at school. However, if we did we just got two more when we got home,” continuing on, “now you guys can just cal 911, get mom and dad in big trouble. Now tell me when you grow up are you going to let your kids get away with the stuff you do or are going to spank them?” I asked each of those three first. Their answer: “Oh yes, ma’am. I’m gonna spank them.” They were echoed all over the room. Oh yes, folks, the kids know, they care, they will turn the world around.