embarrass him if you see his bottom during a spanking. You see his
bottom every day in the course of ordinary business. If he is old
enough that he is in charge of his own hygiene (he bathes himself,
changes his own underclothes and so forth) then leave his underpants
on. You don’t want to embarrass your child or make them feel the
shame of nakedness. You just want to be sure there are no comic
books stuffed into the pants that would keep you from being effective.
(^) 7. After you have spanked, take the child up on your lap and hug
him, telling him how much you love him, how much it grieves you to
spank him, and how you hope that it will not be necessary again. This
keeps the spanking referenced to restoration, not retribution.
(^) At this point there should be complete restoration between you
and your child. If he will not be restored to you, if he is mad at you, if
he refuses to receive your affection, then something is wrong. In such
cases, check two things.
(^) Check your own spirit. Have you handled him roughly? Have you
been out of control? Have you sinned against him in the way you have
disciplined? If you have brought unholy anger on this holy mission,
you must confess your sin and seek forgiveness and restoration.
(^) Check his spirit. Is his anger a reflection of rejection of your
discipline? Is he mad at you? Is he trying to punish you for what you
have done? If so, the discipline session is not over.
(^) We have always been guided by Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline
seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces
a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it.” If discipline has not yielded a harvest of peace and
righteousness, it is not finished. On some occasions I have had to say
to our children: “Dear, Daddy has spanked you, but you are not sweet
enough yet. We are going to have to go back upstairs for another
spanking.”
(^) Clearly, I am not going to repeat the entire spanking over and over
if the child is not willing to be restored. But if the discipline session