How dare I? Sorry, but :lol:. What I asked was how old the kids of the non-spaking group were. I wanted to hear from people who had older kids that they had effectively used this with (older than my kids). And I think it is wonderful and great that you have done research and planned, but nothing prepares you for the real thing. Like I said before...I said I wouldn't do a lot of things, but then I did them. What you say and plan to do are nothing compared to what you ACTUALLY do when the time comes. So...my statement stands.

I was 19 when I had my first son. I was a sophomore in college. I finished, graduated with a 4 year degree and had a career until my second son was born and I quit to be a SAHM. I still did freelance work for a bit after I was a SAHM too. I always LOVED school. I wanted to be a college professor with a doctorate when I started college. That dream changed after my kids were born, but I never lost the love for learning. I believe that, as long as you are willing to learn along with your kids, you can homeschool. I was top of my class all through school, so I have never worried, academically speaking, that I would not be able to homeschool.

Oh honey...if all my kids go to therapy for is the spanking, then we did GOOD!

Definition of obtuse - Lacking quickness of perception or intellect. Exactly, in what way would you like to explain that I am slow and ignorant? I'd love to hear it! I experienced a bit of what your dh did as well as some decent spankings as a child and I am not all jaded by the experience like you are. I have more control over myself that to go off beating my kids. I am NOT my father. And I am just blown away that you would "rather not have the best behaved kids" but know that you never spanked them. That just sounds ...obtuse... to me.

What I mean by that is that I don't necessarily want parenting advice from someone whose oldest child is under 3 or 4. I have more years of experience parenting *this* child than that. I do actually enjoy hearing the experiences and opinions of parents who have BTDT - raised kids to be teens or better and done things one way. Those are the examples where I can look and say, "wow...that really did work for that family." The bottom line...there are a lot of things I said I'd never do as a first time, new parent. 99.999% of those things, I did in the first 5 years!

Thank you! That was very well said and kind. :grouphug:

It is meant as a quotation from the other thread because parents said "We don't spank" and that was the group to which I was referring. Wow - that was some fancy extrapolating you were doing there. :lol:

It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. I do not spank my children in front of groups of people or other kids either (though I have been known to threaten :tongue_smilie: in a "I totally would never do that" kind of way). That type of discipline, for me, is a last resort and is done at home, when I am not angry, and when nothing else has worked. Therefore, I am not shocked that you never saw other kids spanked.

Oh no dear, I spank my kids. I likely will until I feel they are too old to receive them. I just don't value terribly the opinion of inexperienced parents.

I have spanked from age 5 or so up through age 9. At this point, spanking is kind of a moot point since my older ds has not had one in almost a year and my younger responds better to discussions. As I have said, I greatly respect the opinions of others who have older kids and have parented without spanking at all. I don't think spanking is this horrible, vial thing, but I do agree with poster who mentioned that spanking seems to be something that is more a result of MY level of frustration after nothing else has worked. Though I am not an "angry spanker" - I do not hit my kids when I am mad...even if that means they wait on their beds until I calm down. My past (with my abusive father) has taught me that much!

OMG! LOL :lol:

I agree here. If a permit is needed, then one should have been obtained. Perhaps, it would have carried with it a test of some sort so that, at least, these people knew the dangers.

How God-awful. I can't even imagine what these parents are going through. Who would have even thought this could happen? I own a Gecko. It can carry salmonella (all reptiles can). Should I be arrested if one of my kids gets Salmonella? Hopefully not! I know the risks...I am diligent about them washing hands after even so much as touching the terrarium. I wear gloves myself to clean out the cage and wash hands after spraying his cage with water. These people had their snake in the cage. If it had never gotten out before, then how were they to ever see this coming?

I have a school room that I absolutely adore. I am not sure how I could make it without having the space to organize and plan in my own little school sanctuary. :) My older son needs the structure - and so does my younger right now. Though I am not opposed to the kids doing work elsewhere in the house, I feel very blessed and happy to have my school room. :)

Just out of curiousity, all of those out there who "don't spank" or think it is just the most horrific thing ever, how old are your kids? I just want to say that I will gladly listen to someone who has raised kids to be quite old without spanking. Heck, I may even listen intently. However, when your oldest child is like 3-4, please don't talk to me about not spanking. From birth to 4, I am not really sure I had a need to spank EITHER of my kids. Spanking was something that came into play as they got older and other methods did not work. Since we are listing pet peeves, one of mine is having someone who has only been a parent for a few years tell me all about parenting. My oldest son is 10 - I have been at this for a bit...and there are others who are much more experienced than I am as well (though perhaps not as experienced with the *type* of child that my older son is). I am just saying...it may be a good idea to sit back and listen if you have little kids and have only just begun your parenting journey....

I was spanked by one parent, physically abused by the other on several occasions. There IS a difference. A huge difference. I also ran all over top of the family members who didn't spank me. I was one of those kids who NEEDED that kind of discipline and to this day, I respect and love the parent who spanked me properly. We won't talk about the piece of sh*t who abused me.

Oh, of course...because kids were given the authority to parent other kids. Sure. NO. The relationship is NOT the same between two KIDS and a parent/child. I don't punish my husband because he is an adult. God gave my children to me to discipline and love. My job is to make sure they grow up to be decent, Godly adults. If that involves spanking them as children to help teach them right from wrong, then so be it. I would much rather spank my child (on the rare occasion that I do spank them) than know that I allowed destructive behavior to continue, lost control of my kids as they aged, and they ended up in jail or dead before their lives really even began. No thanks.

No, your loving Father God caused his own son excruciating pain and agony to take away OUR sins...not those of his only son. If you believe, for one second, that there is no pain for our sins, then you are severely mistaken. It may not be physical pain...but often times, I would rather it be! God does punish for wrongs. He gave humans the ability to know right from wrong, to feel guilt, pleasure, and pain. You bet we feel pain and are punished when we sin. I would much rather God smack me on the bottom than teach me something like patience through example, to be honest...

Yep, us too. We are southern and obviously not as refinied as you northerners. We just beat our kids with sticks when they are bad - it is all part of the Southern heritage, you know. :glare: :cursing: ETA: OMG...reading your other rude remarks about living in one place all our lives, etc. You totally need to stop typing now. Offensive is NOT the word! Back off!

My son started reading at 4 and started doing 1st grade material when he was 5 1/2 this past January. He is reading very well - on about a 2.5 grade level according to the site I looked on based on the books he is reading. He is not quite to chapter books, but he will be reading those by Christmas - no doubt in my mind. He will be 6 at the end of September.

Yeah, see, judging people in one way or another for their life choices is just not my thing. Glad the posts were deleted.

I am sorry, but I find this thread amusing. The whole concept of being OFFENDED by someone saying "bless you" when you sneeze or "good luck" when you are Christian and don't believe in luck is just..errr...silly. I mean, I am Christian, I don't believe in luck, and I am not sure I can be blessed by God just because a stranger offered them when I sneezed. However, these things have become so commonplace and such social norms that, really, WHO thinks up this stuff? It is like a little group has formed for the sole purpose of searching out random stuff in which they can find offense to some degree. Think happy thoughts, people. LOL

LOL - I am in the "not offended and would have never, in a million years, thought to worry if it offended someone else" category.

I guess I did miss the deleted posts...are you talking about in this thread, or the other thread? Someone attacked you personally for your family values? My opinion...to each his own. If I believe in something strongly, then I make sure to stick by what *I* believe. But it is surely never my place to judge others or try and make them feel the way I do about things. I leave that up to the God that I believe in...and if I die and figure out I was wrong all this time, that is okay too. I lived my life the way I felt was right and didn't let anyone tell me different. That, in itself, is pretty darn good. :)

I didn't elaborate when I posted this. We live in a new construction 3130 sq ft living space (over 5K sq feet if you include all of the nooks, crannies, and garage space...at least that is the sq ft according to the stupid property tax people. :glare:) Our house was finished 4 years ago (we built it and it took awhile). We have 4 br, 3 full baths, living/dining/kitchen, and an enormous man cave for all of dh's junk...errr I mean, stuff. Our low payment is because we paid quite a bit on it as we went as well as from the sale of our other house. 15 year loan....11 years left. We live on 56 acres - mostly forest in the mountains, but about 12 acres of farm land. :)