That takes no sensitivity, no judgment, no understanding, no talent. In 1861 Reverend Horace Bushnell published Christian Nurture . It is frightful to think how they batter and bruise the delicate, tender souls of their children, extinguishing in them what they ought to cultivate, crushing that sensibility which is the hope of their being, and all in the name of Christ Jesus. Dr. Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care has sold upwards of fifty million copies since first published in 1945. It teaches children that the larger, stronger person has the power to get his way, whether or not he is in the right, and they may resent this in the parent for life.
Some spanked children feel quite justified in beating up on smaller ones.
The American tradition of spanking may be one cause of the fact that there is much more violence in our country than in any other comparable nation - murder, armed robbery, wife abuse, child abuse. It relies heavily on football as a setting. Experience indicates that students find the novel more engaging if they understand the historical and sports context of the novel.