The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-08-02
To Spank, or Not to SPANK

An Eastern exchange, edited by an Old
maid, says
"Never whip children just before they
retire to rest. Let the fathers caress,
the mothers kiss be the last link between
the DAVIS pain or pleasure and the nights
sleep. Send the children to bed happy.
II there is sorrow, punishment or dis
grace, let them meet it in the daytime,
and have hours Of play and thought In
which to recover happiness, which Is
childhood's right. Let the weary feet,
the busy brain, rest in bed happy"
That's all right, Of course to some
extent We used to talk that way before
we we're a parent. We knew good
deal more about children anyhow before
we had to grapple with them than we do
now. We used to be great stickler for
moral suasion and love and parental gush
than we are now.
Our theory now In relation to children
is changed from what it was formerly;
We maintain now, after several years
study Of the primary biped, that there
is style Of child that cannot go TO sleep
at night unless spanked.
We have in our mind little child oil
the me sculine style Of architecture, who
will lie and sob, and kick the clothes of,
and be mean and restless for two hours
if YOU forget about him, but If you go
and turn down the coverlld and fan his
person with an overshoe he will quiet
down and be asleep in five minutes.
He is not TO blame for being the victim
to this habit, but he is that way, and he
can't help it. He is tied to his spank
Just as you, gentle reader, are tied TO
your maturer habits.
Strange freaks do often grow into CON
firmed habits that it is almost impossible
10 shake of. Children are often the
victims Of strange and unnatural Gus
toms like older people.
This child, for instance, did not at
first apparently care whether he had his
spanking at p. III. or earlier, but later
/ he was so regular in his demand for cor
poral punishment that you could set your
watch by him. He was also 50 attached
10 a certain kind Of arctic overshoe That
You couldn't accomplish anything by
padding him with any other style OF
hastisement Love is good thing,
nd We often wish that more OF 1t had
cen lavished on us during our past life,
but after all, there are children that do
not yearn for affection half rs much as
they do for armed aggression. OF course
your conscience smites you at intervals
when you go past the little bed alter the
conflict is over and peace and slumbers
arc tho victors. Something may como
up in your throat when you see the little
rebel lying with his feet on the pillow
and his head down at the foot Of the cot,
and little tear on his eyclashos. You
feel, perhaps, as though 1t looked like
taking an undue advantage for n 200
pound man to catch n three-year-old boy
when he is unprepared and paddle hin
with an overshoe, and yet sometimes i
has TO be done.
We know that in our own case corpora
punishment was resOrtcd to while al
tho other boys i'll the family escaped
with moral suasion. The result is wha
might have been expected. We are tn
only one Of all that promising collection
of BOYS whose promssory notes hav
gained world wide circulation to-day
While the other boys wero contcntcd t
plod along and run up little petty &C
D counts at the store, we struck out boldl
= toward fame and insolvency,
You can encourage child with
presg-board sometimes and thus CIV
!. him an impetus which will aid him n
through his life. -Nyc's Boomcrdng'