From the author of Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren:
When I was about 20 years old, I met an old pastor’s wife who told me that when she was young and had her first child, she didn’t believe in striking children, although spanking kids with a switch pulled from a tree was standard punishment at the time.Violence begets violence.
But one day when her son was 4 or 5, he did something that she felt warranted a spanking — the first in his life. And she told him he would have to go outside and find a switch for her to hit him with. The boy was gone a long time. And when he came back in, he was crying. He said to her, ‘Mama, I couldn’t find a switch, but here’s a rock you can throw at me.’
All of a sudden, the mother understood how the situation felt from the child’s point of view: that if my mother wants to hurt me, it makes no difference what she does it with; she might as well do it with a stone. The mother took the boy onto her lap, and they both cried. Then she laid the rock on a shelf in the kitchen to remind herself forever: never violence.
And that is something I think everyone should keep in mind. Because violence begins in the nursery, one can raise children into violence.
Beautiful header ! The lights inside the house look so warm and cozy...a place one wants to be welcomed into and stay awhile .
ReplyDeleteMs.Lindgren has shared a moving moment...very effective...thank you .
Be well...
That was a poignant message and a very tender moment. I do believe in appropriate discipline for children...never used switches, but an appropriately administered spanking followed by loving teaching/correction may have saved a child's life in the long run...I raised three very active boys, and there were times that some kind of physical contact was the only option to get the point across. I believe that when children know they are loved and the discipline is balanced with proper teaching and correction, an occasional spanking administered at the crucial moment to get them back on the right track is not harmful. Every child is different, however...some children may never need more than a "look" to keep them "in line". Raising boys was an adventure to say the least...
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