Jacob took the thought to go outside after being told not to. He went into an outside freezer and got ice cream. Then when caught, shoved it under the end of the porch and flat out lied about it.
So, we started off the day here with a paddle and some sentence copywork. He will be sitting at my side, copying from his reading book all day.
We don't allow lying. Period. It is a standing rule of the house here, always has been. If you choose to lie, you are making the choice to be spanked.
Tough, mean Mom, I'm sure you're thinking. But lying is a poor character addition and honestly, far too many people wink at "little white lies" and fudged story telling.
A lie is a lie. There's no gray area to it. If you take something you have been told not to, and when confronted, choose to tell a different version of what happened, in this house you have chosen to take a spanking as a punishment.
We used to do vinegar in the mouth.
That doesn't work when your children swallow the vinegar. Sort of messes up the whole plan of being nasty and a deterrent for future offenses :o(
To compound Mean Mom's meanness level, I don't allow acting up and showing up with punishment either. There's bound to be some crying. Spankings are not meant to be a fun shared moment. But jumping about, jerking all over, screaming as though life has ended, putting on some elaborate show over one swat on the behind...that is not acceptable.
I'm a hard one, I know. But bottom line is, when we discussed his actions and his pre-determined punishment for the offense, he clearly knew what he did was wrong and that lying about it made it worse. He made the clear choice to disobey what he was told this morning, a clear choice to disregard the rule about stealing, a clear choice to lie about it when he knew he was caught. He knew what the punishment was for breaking those rules of the house.
So, we were at the point of the spanking and that's all there was to it. We have certain rules of conduct, rules of character so to speak, here. The consequences of disobeying the rules without a very clear reason -- every rules could potentially have an area of alteration in it, nothing is so hard and set that there cannot be discussion around it under some situations -- anyway, the consequences for disobedience are already mapped out. It's not something varied from time to time. Everyone is made aware of and has an understanding of the rules as well as the consequences ahead of time.
He was spanked. Soundly. Three times. One for sneaking outside after being told he was not to go. Once for stealing the ice cream. Once for lying about the ice cream when confronted.
We are working on Mom's consistency level here. I have to enforce the rules of the home, even if I'm busy with something at the time. Justice, as you will, must be swift, or you have no authority in your home. For every infraction allowed to pass untended, you hand away a little piece of your authority. Give away enough and you have no order in your home at all and children begin to dictate hoe the home is run and each day flows.
Consistency. If you don't practice that, you are training the next generation of self-willed, ill-controlled pretend adults. Those who lack Godly standard in their lives and allow ever circumstance to be covered in the air of "toleration.". God doesn't wink at our sins.
Jacob will be spending the day at the end of my sewing table, copying sentences and such. Probably a great deal of the day. No talking, no fidgeting, just writing.
Of course he'll get lunch like everyone else. I'm not always a bread and water prison warden, you know.
3 comments:
I know there are people that frown on this punishment, but I say Good for you! The same would have happened here. Lying is a biggy, so is direct defiance and rebellion, and can lead to a lot more problems if not dealt with promptly.
My biggest problem here right now is tattling, I don't like it, and "try" not to allow it, unless someone is hurting themselves or others, but they sneak it in on me anyways. We recently bought the "if-then" chart from door posts, along with their other charts, and my kids know that if they are caught in doing whatever offense, I will take them to the chart, make them read the verse that goes with it (KJV), and the discipline is dealt out. It's working very well.
Hoping the rest of your day runs more smoothly.
In His Grace,
sara
One swat on the bum for each infraction is fine in my book.
God Bless,
Mrs. G
Amen! I spanked my children when they were younger, and have been known to swat a time or two even though they are older.
I expect respect of the rules of my house. And they know it.
And it pays off, because they are, for the most part, well behaved when they are somewhere I am not.
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