Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
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Fair play, and I think I agree for the most point. But I know that many people believe in child raising without raising a hand. If I recall correctly, Scandinavians often practice this kind of child rearing. However, I've been a place or two in Scandinavia where the kids ran riot and nobody seemed to care.
Then again, I ran into a Canadian couple and their young daughter in Brussels once, sitting close to my friends in one of those smooshed together cafes. The girl was misbehaving a bit, unsurprisingly I thought given the environment, and the parents seemed embarrassed. They apologized to us. And then I heard the mother lean in to the daughter and say (and I quote), "if you don't start behaving, that man is going to get angry and hit you."
She was talking about me. I can STILL remember the disgust I felt when I heard that.
I guess I'd rather see kids running around crazily than kids afraid that strangers are going to hit them unless they're quiet.