Raising kids.

PLEASE BE ADVISED....  This is just a RANT.

I've seen and heard a bus load of people talk about the proper way we are to raise our kids.. Some dude named Dr. Spock was the loud mouth expert a few years ago and that opinionated bitch, Jane Valez- Mtchell, who is on TV has more than a few issues... I don't know who Mr. Mitchell is but he needs to straighten out his woman. But I will save her for another topic. All these people telling us about how to raise our children and they don't have a clue. They say that we have to be gentle and not crush thier little spirits.

I have raised one child. I am raising another child and I have been robbed of the opportunity to raise two others. My children call me super Dad.. I wear no cape but in my childrens eyes, I do all that they need.
These people who try to tell us how to raise our children have no idea of what is really important and because people listen to these nuts those of us who are trying to do right are held in contempt for it.

 I have heard a child say to an adult... " why?". Do I have to?" How come? I don't want to. You hurt my feelings. I have actually been told. "You shouldn't speak so sternly to your child". to that I replied." I ought to punch you in the throat. I want my child to hear me when I speak". I have a habit of explaining my communication skills in this way.. " I say what I mean and I mean what I say". I have been in situations where I needed to give instuction of a dire nature. I understand how to "Communicate From A Foxhole" and when I'm talkin, I like to think that what I say has some importance. The people who know me and that have been around me during times of high stress know that I am a take charge kind of guy and if I say something, they can believe that to be true. I tell you all this to get my point across.. There might be a time when I sit at the shoreline and talk with my 5 yr old Maggie about the clouds or butterflies or any of those other important things. There will also be the times when  we are walking threw a parking lot or crossing a street. When I speak, people listen because I speak in a voice that conveys authority. When I say STOP. I mean it.

There are four words in the english language that when heard,, elicit an immediate response. STOP. MOVE. DUCK. HELP. Trust me when I tell you that you better listen to me when I speak. I am not concerned about how Maggie "Feels" when I command her to STOP. I am just thankful that I have trained her to "Listen" to me. I know we don't live in fear of land mines but there are land mines everywhere. and if I can save my child or yours from some pain then I will gladly shout at them. I think it has alot to do with training up a child to do right. My 22 yr. old often tells me that her friends are having hard times with things she finds easy because of the way she was raised.. I remember the first employment that Ruthe, our oldest, had. She worked at a grocery store. The owner was rough on the kids in that he told them what to do and how to do it. So many of the kids who started work there had a hard time with that because they had never been told what to do and certainly no critiqued on thier performance. Ruthe came home one day telling me of a friend of hers who had quit her job. My child thanked me for teaching her about work.. That is the reward that I had worked for the whole time I was raising her. My time was not ill spent.
Maybe I come from an old school but I do know the lessons I learned and these are the leasons I wish to share.

PEACE&GREASE