Dr. Benjamin Spock was a bestselling author of the 1960s with his book on childrearing.  My copy looked like a ransacked Bible after my first child reached her first birthday. His ideas were mind blowing to most grandparents.  He suggested allowing a child to cry a while before picking him up and holding him.  He advocated permissiveness over hard discipline such as spankings and scolding. 

Up until that time, a spanking was not considered child abuse. This new decade of permissiveness may have contributed greatly to what’s happened to parenting over time.  It was a time of protest over race, wars, feminism, sex and independent thinking.  However, children haven’t learned about respecting themselves and others – many have an entitlement attitude – they’ve become inactive physically and overstimulated mentally.  Everything you need to know about sex is in their face before they enter middle school.  Violent behavior seems to be the norm. Families split, marriage has taken on a new meaning and moms and dads come and go like thieves in the night.

The Bible is very clear about discipline. The Old Testament refers to the rod of reproof and the staff of correction, which are referring to a shepherd’s tool. The rod is designed to get the attention of the sheep, and the staff represents the guidance which the sheep require. Psalm 23 refers to these tools as a form of discipline applied to our everyday lives. We need direction. We require discipline. Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is that rod and staff. He is the One who gives those things to us.

Another passage in Proverbs 29:15 we’re told, “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” This passage is not advocating beating your child but gives them guidance for their future. Discipline creates wisdom. When we give our kids everything they want, they become spoiled. When left alone to their own choices, they run wild or choose a path that can be harmful to them.

I don’t remember being on the receiving end of a spanking, except the time my mother chased me with a hairbrush that eventually landed on my backside and broke. I didn’t need psychoanalyzing for it. I don’t believe my childhood was filled with abuse. I do remember being made keenly aware that when you do something wrong, we should feel a little uncomfortable – enough so that we regret doing the wrong in the first place.

Dr. Spock’s words created a parenting revolution, but was it for the better?