Saturday, January 30, 2010

Yelling Is The New Spanking

According to the New York Times, parents have now replaced screaming with spanking. As many of us have seen, people think that spanking is wrong. The only problem is, what do you do with kids that don't care about a time-out. The new answer is scream.

The reason I bring this up is because after reading the article and thinking about it, I wonder if it isn't just parents. After all, everyone knows fighting is wrong, so how do we get someone to see our side or leave us alone if they don't agree with us? Yell at them of course! Don't believe me, watch any reality TV. There's a lot of yelling and drama.

I was just wondering how far this is going to trickle down. After all, many kids learn how to handle conflict from their parents, and if all they see is yelling, what do they learn? What about when they become teenagers, what's the only defense they have (that won't get them sued) that they have seen work...?

Maybe we should look at how to control ourselves. As Aviva Pflock (co-authored Mommy Guilt ) says, "The one thing you really have ultimate control over is the tone of your voice." I know I haven't been perfect with my tone, but really, there's got to be a better way to deal with conflict than yell, right?

Just random thoughts.

T

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