Friday, September 25, 2009

To Spank or Not to Spank...



Now I know why I'm not the brightest crayon in the box...  why I'm a few fries short of a Happy Meal...  why the lights are on, but nobody's home. 

Yes, it's true... my parents spanked me!  I knew there was a reason!

In the news today was a report that kids who are spanked typically have IQ's that are 5 points lower than kids who weren't spanked.  

So that's what happened!

I think I also heard somewhere that spanking to0 often can make you go blind.  Or wait, maybe that was the other kind of spanking.*


Back in the 50's when I was a youngster, spanking was the norm... or at least my parents claimed it was.  It was the whole "spare the rod and spoil the child" idea, I guess.


As we got older, there was less spanking going on. (Perhaps they were worried we'd gotten big enough and brazen enough to strike back... fat chance.  Not this "nice" girl!)  However, that's when the dreaded "lectures" began. I'm not sure what's worse. I remember at times actually asking if I could just get hit and get it over with.



I found a guy over at Silver Age Comics who wrote about the Peter Panda cartoons a few years back....




"Shame on you!"  Yeah, that's tellin' 'em, Peter Panda!  They're sure to behave, now!  (Hmmm... I wonder why parents liked these Peter Panda comics more than kids did?)

I could have learned a lot from Peter Panda!  Sadly, my parents wouldn't let us have comic books. My mom thought that comics would rot our brains. My cousins, on the other hand, had a whole room full of comics! We loved going to their house so we could turn our brains to mush with them.  My mom's glorious plan for developing intellectually superior children backfired, though... we all turned out pretty "normal", while my cousins became the brilliant ones... full scholarships at various small colleges such as Yale.  (One cousin even learned French from reading French comics.)

So, add this to a list of things I can whine about and blame my parents for...  too much spanking and too few comic books.**  A recipe for intellectual disaster!



*And if you were hoping for a post about the other kind of spanking, you're SOL.

**I never spanked Vlad and he read lots of comics... that's why he's so much smarter than I am.  (And he doesn't go to the therapist nearly as often as I do... I'm so proud!)

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, like the new color around here!

And, I was spanked too! Thanks for the comforting thought that my dumbness is not all natural, it was the nurturing too!

Ha!

Remember Spanky from Little Rascals? Do you think HE got spanked a lot? hee hee

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Einstein's parents ever spanked him... Hey! I like the new switcheroo stuff you've done here. All quite good. :D
Keep it up, Cat Lady.

Phillipia said...

Spank me, Spank me...oh wait...wrong blog...

Thanks for the excuse for my lower than average IQ...

I spanked my first kid (very lightly, I should add)- sorry LDBoy - but when they tried to take him away because of it, I started lecturing. It was easier on him and me - I am still trying to figure out what he put in his pants that hurt my hand so bad...

The Old Silly said...

LOL - loved this post and nice blog ya got goin' here! Me? I say spank the little rapscallions. A good smart smack on the behind makes 'em smarter and leaves the chaos behind!

Hey thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog today. Stay in touch - I'll do the same. ;)

The Old Silly

Christopher Jones said...

I think if your parents aimed for the head, your IQ would be five points lower. I don't get how butt pain factors into intelligence.

It's funny how that, at one point, parents said reading comic books would rot a kids brain. Kids today can't spell at all, so maybe reading graphic novels wouldn't really be a bad thing.

Unknown said...

I read that this morning. What. the? I don't condone beating a child, but I agree with C.B. How does that butt factor in? My mom beat some booty. Seriously. Although, it would explain a lot concerning my brothers. lol.

I have three boys. We don't stick with one punishment in our house. I think when you use one punishment everytime, for every offense-- it loses it's effectiveness. Especially if you have more than one child. I've seen my middle son smack his little brother, and then try to put himself in timeout. My kids never know what punishment I'll dole out. I like to keep them on their toes. I bet they'd rather have a spanking than cleaning all the baseboards in the house. ;)

Most people who have a problem with spanking don't have kids and are the first to get pissed off about a disrespectful teenager.

Anonymous said...

Heck we even got spanked in school( and I think some still do that ). And yeah, I've made more than one trip out behind the barn....but now-a-days, all ya gotta do is look at your kid wrong and end up in the nick! The next generation could use a bit more of the old fashioned discipline, methinks....

Anonymous said...

My parents spanked us. Nothing brutal just a quick slap if we were out of line. Did no harm. I remember it being a fair deterrent though. We also had corporal punishment in school and it was nothing too nasty but it did help keep order because of the embarrassment factor. I'm an advocate for it actually. I think it didn't do any real harm to anyone and it seems to work. People are way too PC nowadays with stuff like that. No one should beat a child but a quick slap on the legs or butt never hurt anyone. If more people spanked their little precious child now and then the world would be better off in my opinion! Screw PC-ness.

You know I was a straight A student in school. Does this mean if I wasn't spanked I'd be a GENIUS?! :)

NJ Pigno said...

Hey- love the new look!

I got spanked a few times and I was bottle fed. So, imagine how smart I would be if my parents hadn't screwed it up for me.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Quirky: Just tryin' to spruce things up a bit around here. It's so reassuring that our intelligence is not our fault! (Did Spanky even have parents?)

Scotty: I don't think Einstein had parents... that's probably why he was so smart. Oh, yeah, and he got to read comic books... after dark... in bed... with cookies.

Now, Phillipia, you know the Mother Superior doesn't like it when you get all spanky like that! My condolences to LD Boy.

Hey, Old Silly: Thanks for stopping by the Cat Lady's house. Looking forward to reading more from you!

CB: Actually, Vlad learned to read with Calvin & Hobbes cartoon collections. I still have a hard time with the term "graphic novel". They're comic books for cryin' out loud!

Summer: I have to admit, it's a lot easier with only one child! Like me, he's always been very compliant, so I never spanked him. Maybe I just have a great evil eye.

Subtorp: Even the thought of being sent to the principal's office was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. I'm such a wuss.

Veggie Assassin: Who knows what genius lurks in the hearts of men... and women.... or something like that!

Nanodance: Wow! That would be really amazing to see how brilliant you would have been! But then, you'd probably be way too smart to hang out with me. I think I'm kinda glad you were spanked and bottle fed.

Indigo Roth said...

Hey CatLady, where do I get me a bucket o' cats? You've made me peckish. Indigo

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Indigo: Obviously at Kentucky Fried Kitties

Indigo Roth said...

Can I get fries and gravy with that?

Mike said...

I thought that this was a post about masturbation! LMFAO!!!!!!!!

ReformingGeek said...

I also like the bucket of kitties. ;-)

As for spanking, mom spanked. It worked fairly well but I've got this twitch.....

Kelly P said...

Love the bucket of kitties and the new look too!:) I also got spanked.Thats probably the reason why I'm blind in 1 eye and can't see out the other.HA!HA!(Just kidding,I can see fine with my glasses on.)LOL!

Mr. Condescending said...

LOL @Otin! He makes me laugh constantly.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Indigo: The gravy already comes with the bucket-o-kitties, so you get one more side with that.

Otin: Fooled ya!

Reforming Geek: Thanks. Is the twitch just a little one in your eyelid or is your entire head shaking like a maraca?

Donna: Do you wear an eye patch like a pirate? That would be so cool.

Mr. Condescending: That Otin!

Sultan said...

I think that hitting kids is bad although I understand the impulse.

I must say it would be fun to learn exotic languages through comic books.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Laoch: I agree, which is why I never hit my own kid. But I do remember times when I sat there thinking "now I understand how people get so frustrated they harm their children."

And Vlad has a couple of friends who are now Japanese majors because of anime.

Anonymous said...

I got spanked with a rolled up newspaper once and I laughed so hard because it didn't hurt at all....my mom was mortified.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

frigginloon: A rolled up newspaper? Where did your mom go to spanking school?

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