Mandatory Blog Post: 1
In The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls writes, “Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you’re young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encourages them, she told us. That’s positive reinforcement for negative behavior” (28)
I disagree with this statement. I feel as though if your child is crying you should go see what is wrong and then evaluate the situation from there. If you completely ignore your child it does not immunize their body and soul. In fact it may spark feelings of neglect within the child. If the child is distraught and begins to cry it wants help, if the child’s needs are evaluated and the child is crying over something trifling, like being told to go to bed, or being told they can not have another piece of candy, even then, I do not believe the child should be ignored. Attention from that point on should focus on explaining to the child why they need to go to bed or put down the lollipop. Ignoring the child will not teach them not to cry, it will only teach them that nobody cares about their feelings. If the parent can successfully explain why their rules need to be followed the outcome with the child will be much better than the outcome if they are neglected.
Jeanette’s mother feels that “Suffering when you’re young is good for you” The use of the word suffering makes me feel sick. I feel that discipline when you’re young is good for you, but not suffering. There is a difference between the two. Suffering is by definition “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.”; while discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.”(Merriam-Webster). No child or person in general should ever have to go through suffering and pain, however everyone should experience discipline. Look at the military for example. The men and women in the military are constantly under new discipline and they are very well behaved. Although you certainly do not have to discipline your child as much as the soldiers in the military are disciplined, a little discipline may actually be the key to immunizing the body and soul, rather than suffering.
In The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls writes, “Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you’re young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encourages them, she told us. That’s positive reinforcement for negative behavior” (28)
I disagree with this statement. I feel as though if your child is crying you should go see what is wrong and then evaluate the situation from there. If you completely ignore your child it does not immunize their body and soul. In fact it may spark feelings of neglect within the child. If the child is distraught and begins to cry it wants help, if the child’s needs are evaluated and the child is crying over something trifling, like being told to go to bed, or being told they can not have another piece of candy, even then, I do not believe the child should be ignored. Attention from that point on should focus on explaining to the child why they need to go to bed or put down the lollipop. Ignoring the child will not teach them not to cry, it will only teach them that nobody cares about their feelings. If the parent can successfully explain why their rules need to be followed the outcome with the child will be much better than the outcome if they are neglected.
Jeanette’s mother feels that “Suffering when you’re young is good for you” The use of the word suffering makes me feel sick. I feel that discipline when you’re young is good for you, but not suffering. There is a difference between the two. Suffering is by definition “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.”; while discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.”(Merriam-Webster). No child or person in general should ever have to go through suffering and pain, however everyone should experience discipline. Look at the military for example. The men and women in the military are constantly under new discipline and they are very well behaved. Although you certainly do not have to discipline your child as much as the soldiers in the military are disciplined, a little discipline may actually be the key to immunizing the body and soul, rather than suffering.