I find that I do not remember the minor happenings of my children’s early years as some mothers do. I am not sure why. My children probably had the chickenpox, but I don’t remember. And I didn’t save the first tooth they lost, and neither do I have a lock of hair from their sweet little heads. I remember being very frightened about taking care of my first born. I write of this only to assure young mothers that most babies who are loved by their mothers and have no physical problems will grow to adulthood despite us.

When my son was a few days old he slept in a “basket” in front of the shelf where I placed the baby products…Vaseline, powder, swabs etc. As I reached to get a diaper, I accidentally knocked the Vaseline bottle off onto his crib. He awoke startled and screaming, and I also began sobbing convinced that I had injured him for life. Of course, my husband chose this moment to come home and found a sobbing young mother rocking his screaming, red faced infant son.

This was not the last time I accidentally hurt my son, but I remember it as the first time. I know I have hurt both my children physically and emotionally. Hurting our children always brings us pain. Emotional hurts bring even more pain than physical hurts. Spare the rod and spoil the child seems so outdated and yet God offered this wisdom in the book of Proverbs. (Proverbs 13:24)

Society has come away from this admonition because many people have abused this idea as the world does many of God’s instructions. A child can be raised without any physical punishment and become a fine, upstanding young adult; however, the generations before us who used the Lord’s method of punishment are not to be scoffed at. Loving physical reproofs, loving smacks in the proper places are not to be taken lightly as an excellent form of punishment. My husband says that sometimes it is the best method for getting the child’s attention to help the child realize a problem exists.

Countless people are against physical discipline and that opinion deserves respect. Because each child has a God-given distinct personality, it is necessary to choose the discipline to fit the child. For some children, a gentle reproof is enough, for others getting their attention with a gentle hand in the right area is needed.

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Proverbs 13:24

NOTE TO READER: This blog post is an excerpt from the book I am writing now. At this point,it is entitled THREAD OF LOVE, but that may change. I hope to finish this winter and will try to post a few more examples. Let me know in comments below how you responded to this.