Administering a spanking in the manner laid out in chapter 15 yields
a child who is engaged and happy—even immediately after a
spanking.
I am Afraid of Teaching Them to Hit
(^) Many parents worry that spanking will model hitting as a means
of solving problems. The danger of children seeing hitting as an
appropriate response to frustration will arise only if parents are
spanking in anger. If the procedure outlined for spanking in chapter
15 is followed, the spanking will never be an expression of anger or
frustration. Children will be able to recognize that what they do when
they strike someone in anger is very different from the patient and
gracious use of the rod outlined in this book.
It Doesn’t Work
(^) This objection requires further examination of a parent’s specific
practice. Years of pastoral experience have persuaded me that cases
of the rod not working can be summarized as follows:
(^) A) The primary reason spanking can be ineffective is spanking
in anger. Children will not willingly submit themselves to the
authority of an angry, out-of-control parent. There is an innate sense
of justice in a child; they will inwardly resist submitting their hearts
to a parent who bullies them. They may cower. They may even
respond to the punishment out of fear, but they will not willingly
place themselves under the authority of a parent who disciplines in
unholy anger.
(^)
B) Inconsistent use of the rod. The child never knew what
would elicit a spanking. Therefore, he was always testing the parent.
(^)
C) Failure to persist. Some folks never try anything long
enough for it to work. They give the rod a couple of days. Their