Having had children in three consecutive decades, I have seen parenting techniques change significantly over the past 20+ years. One of the changes involves attitudes toward physically disciplining kids--basically, to spank or not to spank. When I was young and, to some extent, a
young parent, the question was rarely asked because it was considered rhetorical: a misbehaving child needed an attitude adjustment. My dad’s method of corporal “adjustment” was a strategically-placed middle-finger thump on your head that made your body vibrate like a tuning fork. I would rather have been spanked! It seems the view has virtually completely changed now and the main reason cited for not giving kids physical behavior modification is that it teaches violence as a coping method. It makes sense, but I still never walked away from a thump thinking that I could then behave that way, only knowing I wouldn’t be doing whatever I had done to get it again. I reflected on this change the other day when someone told me (inaccurately, it fortunately turns out) that Cookie Monster from Sesame Street is now called Veggie Monster because of healthy eating concerns for kids. I’m a dedicated vegetarian but that made me feel grumpy. So, when I read Scarlett
Cookie’s First Book of Numbers published by Bendon Press and part of their new 40th anniversary set, I was very pleased to see that “Monster Cookie” was his old chocolate chip-chomping, crumb-spewing self--and Scarlett didn’t turn into a crazy cookie fiend from the exposure.
Having had children in three consecutive decades, I have seen parenting techniques change significantly over the past 20+ years. One of the changes involves attitudes toward physically disciplining kids--basically, to spank or not to spank. When I was young and, to some extent, a 
young parent, the question was rarely asked because it was considered rhetorical: a misbehaving child needed an attitude adjustment. My dad’s method of corporal “adjustment” was a strategically-placed middle-finger thump on your head that made your body vibrate like a tuning fork. I would rather have been spanked! It seems the view has virtually completely changed now and the main reason cited for not giving kids physical behavior modification is that it teaches violence as a coping method. It makes sense, but I still never walked away from a thump thinking that I could then behave that way, only knowing I wouldn’t be doing whatever I had done to get it again. I reflected on this change the other day when someone told me (inaccurately, it fortunately turns out) that Cookie Monster from Sesame Street is now called Veggie Monster because of healthy eating concerns for kids. I’m a dedicated vegetarian but that made me feel grumpy. So, when I read Scarlett Cookie’s First Book of Numbers published by Bendon Press and part of their new 40th anniversary set, I was very pleased to see that “Monster Cookie” was his old chocolate chip-chomping, crumb-spewing self--and Scarlett didn’t turn into a crazy cookie fiend from the exposure.
My fridge could use a good cleaning so Red Rover, Red Rover, send Scarlett right over!
ReplyDeleteYou'll notice EVERYTHING gets dumped out and then the pudding gets pulled out of the wreckage.
ReplyDelete