Unfortunately there is indeed a vast number of boys who won’t make eye contact, as in the VBS story upthread. I believe that has as much to do with societal breakdown and plain old bad manners due to lax parenting as anything else. Lord knows we are becoming an antisocial bunch even without the rise in autism!
These parents do spank. That’s not something that’s been necessary to ‘spank into’ boys. As I said, my mom taught 3rd grade beginning in ‘64, making eye contact was a typical rebellious little male thing to do. It wasn’t necessary to ‘teach’ that. It’s become necessary to ‘teach’ eye contact.
We live in lower spanklandia where families begin at early ages and kids are churched and spanked still. I’m in my late 40’s and one of the girls in my HS graduating class is a GREAT grandmother now. And HER grandmother is still alive. That toddler has a living GREAT GREAT GREAT grandmother right now. And my HS classmate has a grandson with autism, and SHE isn’t 50 yet.