Have you ever listened to moms in the grocery store or out on the street? Most of them will tell the kid(s) to stop doing the bad behavior or they’ll be spanked or “put in time out” if they don’t stop. The trouble comes when the mom says this 10 times to the kid but doesn’t follow through with the threat and the kid just keeps up the bad behavior. Growing up, my Mom would give the threat and if we didn’t stop immediately, she followed through. No second chances, no more warnings. And she didn’t care if there were other people around, we got the spanking tight there and then.
I have lived alone most of my adult life.
I had a house in Los Angeles—1966 to 1995.
I had gladiolas planted between sidewalk & curb.
Came outside to find kid from 3 doors down hacking at the plants/stalks of blooms with a flat stick-—destroying them.
I walked up to him-—I KNEW the family-—& I picked him halfway off the ground by his shirt collar—like a cat—and marched him down to his parents.
She was AGHAST-—I walked them both back to see the damage he had done. THEN she was furious at HIM-—and VERY THANKFUL I had grabbed him & frog marched him to her house.
HE had to clean up the mess he made-—and I NEVER had any more trouble from him.