The Worthington advance., 1882-08-24
A Theory on Spanking.

BY Bill Nye.
An eastern exchange, edited by an
old maid, says:
"'Never whip children just before they
retire to rest. Let the fathers curess,
the mothers kiss, be the last link be-
tween days pain or pleasure, and the
nights sleep. Send the children to bed
happy. Iftllerc is sorrow, punishment,
disgrace, let them meet it in the day.
time, and have hours of play and thought
in which to recover happiness. Let the
weary feet, the busy brain, rest in bed
happy"
'"Th.ats al right, OF course, to some
extent. We used to talk that way before
We were a parent. We knew a good
deal more about children anyhow before
We had 10 grapple with them than we do
now. We used to he greater stick
ler for moral s,,asion 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
Il style Of child that cannot go to sleep at
night unless spanked.
We have in our mind child Ofmascu-
line style of architecture, who will lie
and sob. kick the clothes otiand be mean
and restless for two hours if you forget
about him, but if you go and turn down
the coverlid and fan his person with an
ovcrshoe 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 lis spank
just rs you, gentle reader, are tied to
your maturer habits.
Strange freaks do often grow into con-
firmed habits that are almost impossible
to shake of. Children arc often the
victims Of strange and unnatural customs
like older people.
This child, for instance, did not at
first apparently care whether he had his
lie was so regular in his demand for COR
poreal punishment that you could set
your watch by him. He was also at
tached to a certain style of arctic over
shoe that you couldn't accomplish any,
thing by padding him with any other
style of cl,astiscment. Love is a good
thing. and we often wisl, that more of it
had been lavished Oh Us during our past
life, but after all there are no children
WuO uO uOL yC0rH IOr 8ucCC1O0 D0tf 0A
much as they do for armed aggression.
OF course your conscience smites you at
intervals when you go past the little bed
after the conflict is over and peace and
slumber are the victors. Something
may come 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 eye
lasl,es. You feel, perhaps, as though it
looked like taxing an undue advantage
for . 200 pound man to catch six-year-
old boy, when he is unpreparcd and
paddle him with an over-shoe, and yet
sometimes it has to he done.
We know that in our own case corpo-
real punishment was resorted to while
all the other members of the family e.
capped with moral suasion. The re-
suit is just what might have been ex-
pected: We are the only one of all the
promising collection of boys whose
prcmiesory notes have gained q world
wide circulation to-day. While the 9TH
er boys were content to plod along and
run up little petty accounts ut the stores
We struck out boldly towards fame and
insolvency.
You can encourage child with a
Press.hoard sometimes and thus give
him an impetus that will aid him ali
through his life.