Unprepared for Parenting (Ezzos, Pearls, Etc.) *Public*Support and information for those affected by the Ezzos, the Pearls, and other punitive and adversarial methods of child-rearing. A public forum. Before posting here, please read this sticky and keep guideline 23 in mind:
23. No posts harshly dissecting parenting moments of others since we desire to humbly cultivate a heart attitude of grace and not judgment towards other mamas. We all struggle at times as parents and have much to learn, and GCM's focus is to provide tools and information for each of us to parent more effectively. Posts voicing some frustration regarding choices made by others can be okay, but it needs to be within the overall context of seeking understanding or ideas for better responses in the future.
You know, what I would want to point out to someone who finds it convincing that Michael Pearl always whacked himself before using the switch on a child (as described in the last paragraph of the article) is that it's NOT the individual whacks that are so dangerous to parents and children. It's the teaching that parents continue to switch and repeatedly switch until they achieve complete rulership over the child. It's the anger that rises up in parents as they start to feel that their child is bucking the regime, and the tool they have is to spank the child into submission.
I know the Pearls are big on relationship building (string-tying and all that) but while THEY may have been able to whack their children dispassionately and repeatedly from room to room as the book describes and remained emotionally cozy with their children, normal parents are probably going to experience emotional distancing and anger. Now...as Betsy points out....add in the fact that this was a foster child.