148 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
time by applying consequences to his physical body. In other words,
mother should tell Johnny, “If you take a cookie, then you will get a
spanking.” If the parent gives only a verbal reprimand for bad behavior,
then the child will naturally think that the punishment is for always—
because his immature mind is incapable of grasping the concept of time.
But, if the parent gives the child physical discipline, then the child will
learn that punishment involves time, because his body will only hurt for a
little while, and then it will stop hurting. Similarly, if the parent wants to
teach his child that the crime has now been forgiven, then the spanking
should be followed by physical comfort such as hugging. In other words,
there will be a physical punishment and then a physical reconciliation.
How hard should the spanking be? Strong enough for the child to
remember it. But, never so severe that it leaves mental or physical scars.
The child should feel pain, but his body should not be injured. Then, the
painful memory should be buried by the love of reconciliation and the
friendship of family. Remember, the goal is to use the physical body to
teach the idea of time. Therefore, the punishment should occupy a certain
segment of time and then it should be completely finished. Obviously, and
emphasizing this point again, giving the child „a spanking that he will
never forget‟ would not help the child to learn about the relationship
between time and conscience.
As before, our conclusion contradicts the views of established
educational theory. In some countries, spanking is illegal, and parents can
be prosecuted in court for paddling their children. However, it is
interesting to note that most of today‟s youth have major problems with
low self-esteem, and feel rejected by their parents. Teenage rebellion has
become the norm. Today‟s children also have no sense of time. Everything
is supposed to happen instantly, and hyperactivity is an accepted disability.
Could the lack of intelligent discipline be part of a cause-and-effect link
between these two conditions?A
A Some studies suggest that children who are spanked tend to be more
aggressive and anti-social. This outcome makes sense if parents use
corporal punishment as a way of controlling their children. However, if
spanking is combined with the other factors described in this chapter, then
I suggest that the results will be beneficial. Our research suggests that anti-
spanking reports are generally written by Facilitator persons who are
repelled by the „impoliteness‟ of parents using „physical force‟ to impose
their personal views upon „defenseless children.‟ These writers often call
for spanking to be outlawed. In other words, they want government to
intrude into the family lives of its citizens and use physical force to impose
the personal views of the researchers on the rest of the population. How
impolite!