Is spanking a thing of the past? Well, if it’s not, then it should be, according to the writer of this article, who says:

Unless your child maybe reaches for, say, an electrical outlet you left exposed or some roach poison you left where they could find it and is in danger of killing themselves, there’s no reason to spank his or her wrist. When he or she is in error, they are capable of reason. You just have to be patient enough to talk to them — which, if you didn’t know, is part of your job description. When they disobey, instead of getting physical, it works just as well to punish them by making their favorite toys off-limits or giving them extra chores while the other kids are having a good time playing.

I agree, and even though taking away toys and restricting fun activities doesn’t always work, I still don’t think I could ever spank my kids — even if they do reach for an electrical outlet or play in roach poison.

But that’s just me.

What do you think?

Photo by: Tommy Klumker on flickr

I’m afraid that my two little boys (ages 8 and 6) feel a tad too entitled. They want, want, want, and then they want some more. And when they don’t get a new toy just a few days after scoring Clone Wars action figures, they get cranky and moody and mopey. Why do they always want more than we already give them? Do they not appreciate how good they have it? Probably not. So we’re teaching them. Our lesson plan: chores. We want them to know they are contributing members of our family, that they are not merely the recipients of all things good, that they must give a little too.

My boys are making their own beds (if you can call tossing blankets and pillows on top of a mattress “making” a bed), they’re dragging trashcans to the curb on Monday nights and yanking them back up on Tuesday afternoons. They are (kind of) washing dishes, and they are cultivating a closer relationship with yard work. When one boy asks for a bowl of strawberries, we tell him, “sure, go ahead and get yourself some.” And when the littler boy asks for a drink, we urge him to the fridge to quench his own thirst (we keep drinks on a bottom shelf so he can actually accomplish this task). We don’t have a chore list or anything, we’re just kind of winging it. There are no rewards for completion, and we’re not doling out allowance. These are the jobs we think they need to do just because they live in our house — and just because we want them to know that visiting the toy aisle is not their sole purpose in this world.

Do your kids have chores? Tell us what they do and whether or not it helps their behavior.

We’re dealing with some kid challenges at our house — stuff like talking back, fighting and whining. You know the drill. And if you’re like me, you’re constantly trying to fix the problems of the day. Good news: You don’t need to.

Dr. James Dobson, founder and president of Focus on the Family and author of “Bringing Up Boys” — the book that delivered me this good news — says: “The mechanisms that set kids aflame will cool down. That’s why I recommend that you not look too quickly for the person your child will become. It’s also why I believe parents should seek to ‘just get them through it’ rather than trying to fix everything that bugs them as parents.”

I’m not sure it will make me feel any better to just let things go and wait for the tides to change. But I like how this man thinks, and he reminds me that my kids are normal. Whew.

What do you think: Is it better to find a fix for misbehavior or to just wait it out?

Want your own “Bringing Up Boys” book? Buy it here.