THIS CASE from Florida makes a perfect small example of the modern perversion of time tested successful child rearing techniques. Short version, a 12 year old boy purposely stomped in a mud puddle, which splashed muddy water on bystanders. The boys was arrested, handcuffed and held by police for a couple of hours.
Arrested and taken to jail for splashing in a mud puddle? If I were the twelve year old, I suspect my reaction would be entirely negative. I would take it as pure bullying by The Man, harsh and arbitrary treatment that would only breed permanent resentment- as it should.
Obviously being hauled off to jail would tend to be a tremendously traumatizing experience in numerous ways. It's not likely to be a positive training experience.
Yet what do you do with the boy? Let's assume for the sake of argument that he really made a mess of several people's clothes. That's just unacceptable. Talking to him and wagging a finger might reasonably be seen as insufficient to make the point to the boy. There must be something stronger, yet short of absolutely calling in the fuzz.
Solution: A simple old fashioned spanking. Let the assistant principal earn his pay. Or invite Dad to come administer the punishment. A half dozen good swats on the bottom with a paddle communicates that there are serious consequences to your actions. Even mild attacks like this on another's person will not be tolerated. Judiciously applied corporal punishment could help in a great many cases by getting the child's attention before it gets to the point of them doing much worse things.
A simple ass whipping will hurt your pride a little, which is the point, but will not produce all the drama and trauma of calling in the cops. It's not a perfect solution to all child problems. Spanking can be easily overused or flatly abused. Used judiciously however, corporal punishment has been shown to be very useful in the real world.
"Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." (Proverbs 23:13,14)
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