The way I see it, guiding children along the correct paths of life, is an onerous task.
The experts would tell you that there are different forms of discipline and that each child should be treated on an individual basis and not a general line of discipline meted out to all children. Just this week, I listened in horror as I was told about the behaviour of one of the children that a group of us are attempting to mentor, mainly through Cricket activities at Hardtimes. I was not present at the time, but I was told that when this particular youngster got out, he threw the bat far away and showed off his degree in ‘expletive-deletives’.
Well I newa!
I voiced my disappointment that he was allowed to continue to play after that and I plan to sit the group down next week and outline a set of rules, as regards their behaviour and possible consequences of their action.
These could include but are not limited to: Doing some laps around the field; being asked to quit the game for the afternoon etc.
I have also started a session with motivational speakers coming in to talk to the youngsters.
Now, when I was growing up, there were one basic means of discipline, the strap. Well, I say STRAP loosely, but in reality, it was anything that our parents ‘hands could ketch!’
So, some of us got whippings with yard brooms; tamarind whips, big broad belts, had pots and pans thrown at us…I mean nowadays, they would be locking up some of our parents for CHILD ABUSE. Fortunately, we came out okay and we are still alive, even though some of us still carry our permanent scars.
Nowadays, there is a lot of psychology to the whole art of discipline and so children are guided differently.
I recently watched a video and a gentleman was explaining the basic difference between discipline in my era, versus what transpires in the now generation. He explained that when our parents were punishing us with the strap, they punished by WORDS:
“Ah (whap) told (whap) you (whap) not (whap) to (whap) go (whap) down (whap) there (whap)’
Nowadays, parents punish by SENTENCES:
“Ah told you not to go down there (whap)!’ One whap as against 8, in my era!
I asked my good friend GOOGLE about the benefits of discipline and found the following:
“Child discipline, despite its not so friendly reputation has a lot of positive benefits. The end-goal of all parental discipline is to give children the ability to self-train — in other words, to control their own behavior, thoughts, and emotions for the betterment of themselves and others.
Traditional discipline lays the foundation for this by helping kids understand the consequences of their actions, make better behavioural decisions, and establish lasting positive personality traits.
12 Benefits of Discipline
1. Discipline allows you to achieve goals by weeding out the distractions in your life.
2 Discipline makes you feel good…
3. Ultimately, self-disciplined folks are proven to feel less stressed throughout their lives.
4. And satisfied with your life
4. Discipline creates good students — and lifelong learners.
5. Discipline makes for more intelligent and motivated students.
6. Discipline allows kids to be able to set, and achieve, goals better.
7. Discipline gives you a more positive outlook.
8. Discipline helps you avoid temptations.
9. Discipline gives you grit.
10. Discipline makes you more emotionally stable
11. Discipline keeps you healthy.
12. Discipline puts money in the bank.”
I wish all parents and teachers well in guiding our new generation children.
The bible clearly states: “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”
You may need the patience of Job, but one child rightly led, can make a marked positive difference in our world. It will be worth it, after all.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?