The Bible clearly states that when you spare the rod, you would most likely spoil the child. What is the practical implication of this Biblical admonition in raising children with discipline?
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discuss Spare the rod and spoil the child: What does this really imply in raising kids?
- Thread starter King Belieal
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This thread covers all aspects of ideologies, including beliefs, principles, traditions, policies, and their influence on society and culture.
One problem is really bad kids are often copying their parents. So, who's going to spank the parents? 
The rod in this context is discipline. It simply means giving the child the child discipline towards the right direction. This is expressed when a parent is able to set clear boundaries and instil the belief of action and appropriate consequences for the child to know.
I always interpreted it as discipline in the form of hitting.
I was paddled in school growing up, spanked at home with a belt, switch, and a paddle, as well. I probably got a few good hard spankings a few times a week as a kid and into my teens.
I feel like it was warranted back then. I'm not at all messed up from it.
Do I think kids need it today? Maybe. But it's so underused that it could be more traumatic for them than it would have been for those of us who got it commonly growing up. Most kids today are not used to it. It would be too extreme even if they were done lightly.
Today, all you really need to do is buy them a smartphone and let them get used to it. When they misbehave, take it away for a week straight. Don't budge. They lose it for a week. That's a long time to miss out on everything. When you give it back, emphasize that it will be two weeks next time and be firm and serious about it.
That's all it takes nowadays.
I was paddled in school growing up, spanked at home with a belt, switch, and a paddle, as well. I probably got a few good hard spankings a few times a week as a kid and into my teens.
I feel like it was warranted back then. I'm not at all messed up from it.
Do I think kids need it today? Maybe. But it's so underused that it could be more traumatic for them than it would have been for those of us who got it commonly growing up. Most kids today are not used to it. It would be too extreme even if they were done lightly.
Today, all you really need to do is buy them a smartphone and let them get used to it. When they misbehave, take it away for a week straight. Don't budge. They lose it for a week. That's a long time to miss out on everything. When you give it back, emphasize that it will be two weeks next time and be firm and serious about it.
That's all it takes nowadays.
Is this the meaning of not sparing the rod in these days and times? I bet when they wrote that verse in the Bible, they didn't envisage the age where smartphones would become the rods to use not to spoil the child. How times have changed?
Kids learn so much by mimicking parents. How much is really there own naughtiness?
Traditionally, it’s been interpreted to mean that physical punishment is necessary for proper upbringing. However, modern understanding emphasizes that discipline doesn’t have to involve harshness; consistent guidance, setting boundaries, and positive reinforcement can effectively teach children right from wrong without harm.
Where I come from, we don't spare the rod. It's an important part of discipline. Even me, I beat my children when they are wrong but I sit them down and let them know the reason why I did so.
I believe reward and punishment works for disciplining a child or raising a child to become responsible, but I am against corporal punishment. It should be something like restricting him from using his device or toy. Hitting kids will traumatize him all his life.
I perfectly agree with you. It is a culture in my place to be harsh with kids and hit them. What parents don't seem to understand is that they mess with the mental health of their kids. Those kids that are beaten like animals would end up having serious issues with their confidence.
I wouldn't say cultural practice but hitting kids to discipline or teach was very normal in the past, that's how out parents and their parents and parents of their parents were raised. But times have changed and we as a parents need to adopt to something better. We need to behave according to our time.
Apsara
Captain Cackle
The phrase “spare the rod and spoil the child” implies that without discipline, children may grow up undisciplined or disrespectful. However, I believe discipline doesn’t mean harsh punishment, it means guiding with love.
Very much!
They keep changing even more and more, too. Occasionally, I see parents still raising their kids through the old means of discipline. I usually also see me in that kid because they're raising them to basically mimic their own generation which may be good or bad.
In my place, it is seen as pretty normal to hit your kids. There are only few parents of young kids that don't buy and own a cane at home. I mean modern parents. Parents that are in their 20s and 30s. They say that just scolding a child and using the withdrawal of some luxury or pampering that would spoil a child.
Corporal punishment is traditionally done on the rear end. If it's somewhere else, I consider it abuse, but so many parents just hit their kids like something on The Three Stooges. 
