Re: Which Punitive Parenting Ideas Influenced You?
I grew up with standard Baptist "discipline" and my parents read and listened to a lot of Dobson's stuff, so I was influenced by him from childhood. I read his books when I became a parent, too, but he seemed mild compared to what most of the families I grew up with actually *did* plus--from a parenting perspective--he left a lot of questions unanswered in my mind. Still, those ideas are the most deeply ingrained and "programmed" b/c they've been prevalent my whole life.
There is also a lot of cultural influence.. just old-fashioned, conservative ideas about parental authority and "whippin," and "switchin."
When ds1 was 6 mos. old, a friend gave me TTUAC and the 2 books that follow it. I started reading and re-reading.. thinking, talking to dh, etc... over the next several months. That was probably the most dramatic (and destructive) punitive influence on me as a parent. His methods struck me as shocking and a bit extreme at first, but began to seem like a more thorough, "purified" version of what I had always been taught, plus he broke everything down into such detail that I was drawn to it. (I was really floundering at the time and at a loss for what do to with my very spirited and determined young man)
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