The Rules In Our House

These were the rules in our house when I was growing up. The punishment if you broke any of them was a spanking.

1. I will obey my father and mother or any person my parents place in authority over me. I will do what I am told to do when I am told to do it, cheerfully, and to the best of my ability. That also means when I am told not to do something, I will not do it.

2. I will not lie

3. I will not steal.

4. I will not use inappropriate language.

5. I will not show disrespect for, or argue with my parents, or any adult with authority over me.

6. I am in school to learn. I will do so to the best of my ability. I will obey my teachers and others in authority at the school. If my grades do not show that I am trying my best, or if I misbehave in school, I will be punished at home even if I have been punished by the school.

7. When I am punished I will cooperate and not resist in any way, to do so violates both rule 1 and rule 5. If I do not cooperate, or if I resist in any way, I will be punished further.

As you can see, if strictly applied these rules will provide frequent opportunities for spankings. A framed copy of them hangs on the wall. I used the same rules raising my own kids, 4 boys, and they are using them raising their own children.

This all has a very familiar ring to it. While there was no framed version hanging on the wall at home, those points were very well understood by my two sisters and me. Also growing up in a small town all of the police officers and the kids knew one another. The police were to be obeyed and if one of us was messing around on our bikes in an unsafe manner, the police would take the bike and lock it in a special rack at the police station. The only way to get it back was to show up with a parent. Word got out and there weren't many occasions that the police needed to use this. Oh, by the way, getting in trouble at school was a biggie because we also got punished at home. Us three kids all turned out well as a result so something has to be said for this.

My mom had a simple rule: "Do what I ask you to do when I ask you to do it. I will not ask a second time until I have thoroughly spanked you."

I got very few spankings because I obeyed my mom and my dad. My brothers, too, for the most part.

Once my mom's brother dropped off his 4-year-old son and said to my mom, "Susan, I'm sorry to do this to you on such short notice. I'll be back in two weeks."

The same rule applied for my little cousin. He was a wild, angry child, but after two days and half a dozen spankings, he got the message. By the end of two weeks, he was extremely well-behaved and a happy little boy. He played nicely with me and my two brothers and we enjoyed having him.

When his dad returned to pick him up, he actually cried, and said, "Daddy, I want to live with Aunt Susan."