Old School Discipline
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Old school punishments. Gone. Many with good reason.
But wait, not so fast . . .
Parents, most of us, do the best we can with our children. What the best is, though, changes over time, from generation to generation. And that's a good thing. As society progresses, science and psychology advance and become more accessible in the main stream, parents have more information, more options, better ways to approach parenting, behavior modification and, yes, punishment.
True story: My oldest is very headstrong. I won't say he got it from be but . . . OK, I'll say it, he got it from me.
When he was little, one of the behavior modification strategies I'd use would be to take away a favorite toy and put it on the top of the fridge for a finite amount of time.
One day mom called me. I was frazzled, and she could hear my son whining in the background. Since we wanted to talk (or maybe she wanted to talk me off of the ledge) she had a suggestion:
Mom: Why don't you give him a toy to play with so we can talk?
Mom: Why don't you give him a toy to play with so we can talk?
Me: I can't.
Mom: What do you mean you can't?
Me: He doesn't have any.
Mom: Any what?
Me: Toys.
Me: Toys.
Mom: Toys? He's got thousands of them.
Me: They're all on the top of the fridge.
Mom: All of them?
Me: Pretty much.
Me: Pretty much.
Mom: You're having a bad day. You need to take a break. What are you doing now?
Me: Trying to figure out how to get the TV on top of the fridge.
Me: Trying to figure out how to get the TV on top of the fridge.
Not a bad strategy in general, but decidedly better than some of those old school punishments. The ones used in the time of our parents, and grandparents, when the understanding of children and behavior and conformity was not what it is today.
But as I watch the news, I start to realize that many of those who are in the public eye are suffering from one of two things: either not being punished enough as children, or just plain never learning some very basic moral lessons.
Maybe what they need is some old school discipline.
Like, who better to be sent to sit in the corner with a dunce cap than Mike Pence.
Alex Jones absolutely needs to have his mouth washed out with soap. Hourly.
Matt Gaetz needs a good old fashioned spanking. Unless, of course, he'd like it.
Banned from TV? Kanye West. Not watching it, but being on it. "Ye" should spend less time changing his name and more time changing his rhetoric.
Putin should be forced to take out the trash, since he is trash.
Who should have had his favorite toy taken away? Has to be trump and that sharpie.
Marjorie Taylor Greene needs to be tasked with cleaning the toilets. Maybe she'll get stuck in that swirling waterspout when she flushes.
Clarence Thomas should be sent to bed without dessert. Make that without dinner too. Less eating, more time for reading the constitution.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies
Staying home with a babysitter while the family goes on vacation (OK, not a real punishment, I made that one up): who but Ted Cruz?
And I have to admit, it would do my heart good to see Moscow Mitch's head and hands sticking out of those holes in the wooden stockade on the town square.
Bet there are a few you could add too.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies
©www.BakingInATornado.com
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
roasted pepitas
Directions:
*In a food processor or a clean coffee grinder, crush the baking chips to powder.
*In a food processor or a clean coffee grinder, crush the baking chips to powder.
*Cream the butter, cream cheese, and crushed baking chips until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
*Carefully beat in the powdered sugar and flour.
*Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Roll the dough into 24 equal sized balls. Place onto the prepared baking sheets and, using a wet or greased bottom of a glass, flatten them. Top each with a few pumpkin seeds.
*Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before removing to cool completely.