[ApplegateRanch]

I never pulled that kind of cr@p in the first place but if I had

I did. In a store. ONCE.

I quickly discovered that my mother was not about to be embarrassed publicly by allowing me to attempt to embarrass her into getting my way; she much preferred to unabashedly give me a lesson never forgotten.

Emotional blackmail ("tantrums") were very quickly ruled out of my behavioral repertoire

[TigersEye]

LOL I don't recall trying the public blackmail thing. If I did it was dealt with efficiently or I would have a memory of it. Thankfully for both me and my parents I think I learned my lessons at home. I would be surprised if I was spanked even six times in my childhood. In addition to sheer fear my dad was the one who used blackmail. You know what I mean I'll bet. The "you've disappointed me" and the "you've shamed me" approach. "How could a son of mine...?" Subtle too, not put in so many words. If the thought of getting my butt blistered wasn't enough I had to live with breaking his heart. No wonder I was a good kid! ;^)

I went off the res when I was a teenager and wasn't doing the world much good in my twenties either. But I finally quit that in my late twenties and those early lessons learned provided a basis for ethical self-guidance that still informs my life today.