Child Rearing

Let me start out by saying that I am obsessed with all things southern and I have a very strong loyalty to my roots. I love reading books written by southern women in an attempt to poke fun at some of the same things/reasons I had to get the hell out of Carrsville (my hometown). One of my favorites is the Sweet Potato Queens. When I got married I read the Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love.SN: One of my biggest pet peeves is individuals that do not understand that an apostrophe denotes ownership (possessive) where as not having an apostrophe denotes plural. There are people that address us as the Zelman's. Incorrect!!! Drives me nuts, we are the Zelmans plural. Then there is also the plural possessive which is used correctly above the book is the Queens (plural) book, therefore it is plural possessive. If you are visiting the Zelmans' house then that would be proper use of plural possessive. End rant.
Now that I am a Mama what better way to get some parental laughter than from the Queens by reading their guide to raining children for fun & profit!
For those of you that don't know I love Jesus, I just don't feel you have to push your religion on other people in order to be a "Christian." If this isn't obvious to you then the fact I married a bear Jew should clue you in. I was always taught to be open and understanding of other people's differences, I don't have to accept them, just respect them. Therefore it is up to me to interpret their words to shape my own beliefs. So back to my book, I stumbled across this little gem and I just had to share it because it sums up how I feel wonderfully about disciplining children!

"And NO, hitting your kids is not justified in the Bible, 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' does not appear in the Bible. The verse, bastardized by bastards who want to beautify beating their babies is actual Proverbs 13:24, and it says, 'He who spares the rod hates his son but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.'
The point being that parents should discipline their children--meaning guide and direct them--it does not mean to hit them. The 'rod' in the Bible was used by shepherds to defend and guide the sheep--not for flogging the flock. In Psalm 23, it says, 'Thy rod and they staff, they comfort me.' This was not an early S&M writing. Beating children is NOT the biblical message.
So anyway, I am not in favor of corporal punishment, and it reeeeallly pisses me off when people beat the crap out of their kids and try to blame it on the Bible. I believe the Bible teaches the exact opposite, in fact.

And in Ephesians 6:4, parents are further cautioned: 'Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.' So there."

And there you have a little peek into my innermost ramblings for the day...