“The problem with children these days is that they need a bloody good hiding”

[TheHeadOfTheHouse]

Said by a relative in his 70s.

I’m noticing that the older generation (over 60s) seem to think that although they were beaten to a pulp, they still think this is the correct way to bring children up.

We have Autism and ADHD in our wider family. Older relatives don’t seem to be very tolerant of this and keep implying that the cause of this is too soft parenting.

A relative was having a debate with me the other day saying how parenting was much better in his day, police could hit you, teachers used to cane you etc and how there wasn’t the behaviour that we have these days.

He was very defensive when I told him that I’m very glad all that has been abolished.

“Yeah, but we didn’t have teenagers stabbing each other back then”

Hes one of a few people I’ve come across lately who is all for hitting children.

It seems to be were Autism and ADHD children are concerned that it seems to provoke people saying this

You always get forward thinking people who are critical of things - but it was hugely popular, wasn't it? I do think my mum is a bit unusually low-expectations of men and probably always have been, but in general, I feel like it wasn't totally alien in the way it comes across now.

I’m noticing that the older generation (over 60s) seem to think that although they were beaten to a pulp, they still think this is the correct way to bring children up

I'm noticing ageist idiots with an anecdote of 2 or 3 older people, make sweeping generalisations based on one or two people, who have probably been horrible all their lives, rather than reach a certain age, then suddenly turn into dickheads.

I'm noticing, it makes them look like complete idiots who are a bit hard of thinking.

Yes, my in-laws are genuinely lovely people who thought they were doing the right thing, but my husband was a grouchy little boy sometimes for no apparent reason and in their own words a light smack would "snap him out of it" and they would then have a nice day out rather than a day of arguments and tantrums

However now as a grown man he covers up his emotions and is unable to express anything negative/sad and it's limited our ability to be emotionally intimate to some degree

Is your name supposed to be trolololololololol?

I do find it tends to be older people that are in favour of smacking in the circles I move in. That there is a lack of respect amongst the younger lot and it's because you can't give them a good hiding. It was a shame they stopped using the cane at school etc etc. However there are a few parents of my age I know too that use smacking as a punishment but oddly enough only when the child is very young and not able to hit them back. One aunt almost had a fit when she found out I was one of those foolish mothers who asked their younger kids consent before washing them.

Why is it extremes of parenting used in these debates. It seems that unless you are hitting your children, you are a parent that just lets their kids do what they want. You can have discipline that doesn't involves physical punishment and can raise lovely respectful children without striking them.