My mom was very “insightful” as to what would work to discipline us, as were were very different; some would say psychopathic, or something-pathic
To me, staying still, in a silent open space, where no one ever passed through, was basically a perverse, inside-out, solitary confinement
My next-younger brother “responded better” to physical mistreatment - she had a wooden spoon; I remember a time where he was getting “a talking to” and got to the spoon before she had a chance to raise it on him
“Give me the spoon” she growled
He made a tactical mistake, and threw it at her - he missed. He froze in his tracks
She picked it up
In the blink of an eye, she hit him so hard the spoon broke in half
Even with only the handle, and not much of it at that, she backed him into a corner, and stared him down into tears
The other two brothers saw their two options: mind-fuckery or getting the shit beat out of you
They were well-behaved — at home, anyway
At some point, she just said “Fuck these children” and eventually left us alone
That’s a crazy scene with your mom and your brother.
Did you ever consider that if each of you misbehaved only 25% of the time, your mom was dealing with a misbehaving kid 100% of the time? What a life!
And if you and a brother were naughty more than 25% of the time or overlapped naughty times, your mom was out-numbered and facing revolt continuously!
I hope everyone here takes a moment and reflects on the misery they caused their mothers. You could have been better. (She could have done better, too.)
After I left home, and the other three were in high school, she kept a police scanner on her nightstand = let someone* else *deal with them, as long as I know where they are
And now she has dementia, and can’t remember any of it
.
Never used a belt, only a hand … Until the year we first got Hot Wheels for Xmas
I can* still *hear the high-pitched whistle the section of orange plastic track made as it cut through the air
My cousins were the victims of hotwheels tracks.
For me, not sure what was worse. My mom’s hand, or my dad’s insane post-Nam PTSD raging temper tantrums.
Lessons I learned growing up. If I did it, I was going to get it. If I didn’t do it, I was going to get it. If I didn’t do it and said I didn’t do it, I got it worse.
I got whippings with a belt by both parents quite a few times. Also got whippings from my grandmother with small tree branches I had to go pick myself. Got paddled a few times at school by different coaches and administrators. I guess you could say I grew up getting my ass beat. Finally grew out it.
Did you ever consider that if each of you misbehaved only 25% of the time, your mom was dealing with a misbehaving kid 100% of the time? What a life!
And if you and a brother were naughty more than 25% of the time or overlapped naughty times, your mom was out-numbered and facing revolt continuously!
If they were each naughty 25% of the time then mum (at 100% efficiency) could nail them every single time they acted up - in the simplistic world of no overlaps).
Now if they were all switched on they would realise that misbehaving more than 25% of the time (each) increased the chances of getting away with it. At 100% naughty, they got away with 3/4 of it. It was in their collective best interests to all misbehave.
Did you ever consider that if each of you misbehaved only 25% of the time, your mom was dealing with a misbehaving kid 100% of the time? What a life!
And if you and a brother were naughty more than 25% of the time or overlapped naughty times, your mom was out-numbered and facing revolt continuously!
If they were each naughty 25% of the time then mum (at 100% efficiency) could nail them every single time they acted up - in the simplistic world of no overlaps).
Now if they were all switched on they would realise that misbehaving more than 25% of the time (each) increased the chances of getting away with it. At 100% naughty, they got away with 3/4 of it. It was in their collective best interests to all misbehave.
If you think a mother has no other responsibilities than correcting misbehavior, then you might be right. But that’s not reality.
Plus, correcting behavior isn’t fun for anyone. No one wants to live that miserable life. Would you sign up for that job?
Finally, naughty kids are not happy kids. No one wants to be the bad kid. The bad kid doesn’t succeed, and no one wants to be a loser.
Did you ever consider that if each of you misbehaved only 25% of the time, your mom was dealing with a misbehaving kid 100% of the time? What a life!
And if you and a brother were naughty more than 25% of the time or overlapped naughty times, your mom was out-numbered and facing revolt continuously!
If they were each naughty 25% of the time then mum (at 100% efficiency) could nail them every single time they acted up - in the simplistic world of no overlaps).
Now if they were all switched on they would realise that misbehaving more than 25% of the time (each) increased the chances of getting away with it. At 100% naughty, they got away with 3/4 of it. It was in their collective best interests to all misbehave.
If you think a mother has no other responsibilities than correcting misbehavior, then you might be right. But that’s not reality.
Plus, correcting behavior isn’t fun for anyone. No one wants to live that miserable life. Would you sign up for that job?
Finally, naughty kids are not happy kids. No one wants to be the bad kid. The bad kid doesn’t succeed, and no one wants to be a loser.
I didn’t think that one required pink font. One or both of us may need a recalibration of out tone radars. Probably me; everything feels broken these days.
Did you ever consider that if each of you misbehaved only 25% of the time, your mom was dealing with a misbehaving kid 100% of the time? What a life!
And if you and a brother were naughty more than 25% of the time or overlapped naughty times, your mom was out-numbered and facing revolt continuously!
If they were each naughty 25% of the time then mum (at 100% efficiency) could nail them every single time they acted up - in the simplistic world of no overlaps).
Now if they were all switched on they would realise that misbehaving more than 25% of the time (each) increased the chances of getting away with it. At 100% naughty, they got away with 3/4 of it. It was in their collective best interests to all misbehave.
If you think a mother has no other responsibilities than correcting misbehavior, then you might be right. But that’s not reality.
Plus, correcting behavior isn’t fun for anyone. No one wants to live that miserable life. Would you sign up for that job?
Finally, naughty kids are not happy kids. No one wants to be the bad kid. The bad kid doesn’t succeed, and no one wants to be a loser.
I didn’t think that one required pink font. One or both of us may need a recalibration of out tone radars. Probably me; everything feels broken these days.
I can’t read tone for squat. My bad.
I agree about the brokenness. At the same time, I’m really optimistic.
It’s well-documented that a population of endurance athletes come from addictive backgrounds, and used fitness challenges to break away from that cycle
I wonder how many come from fucked-up childhoods as well?
As my father’s alcoholism deepened, and my mom showed signs of struggling with her family’s bi-polar history, did I ride my bike for hours & hours , just to avoid going home? You* could *say that
As my father’s alcoholism deepened, and my mom showed signs of struggling with her family’s bi-polar history, did I ride my bike for hours & hours , just to avoid going home? You* could *say that
Personal experience was also avoidance of the family home. By the time I was a teenager I had an after school sports activity on all 5 school days.