my shortening fuse

"spare the rod, spoil the child." i know a lot of people are against corporal punishment, but i, for one, am a huge supporter. more and more i am having to deal with children who have no respect for authority, and lack a healthy fear of consequences. it drives me mad to hear children call their mother's by their first names and tell their parents to shut-up. the reason "because i said so, and i'm the adult" carries no weight anymore. because people are afraid of squelching children's personalities, children are growing up more uncentered and out of control. when a child is allowed to make all the decisions and everything is made to revolve around him, just to avoid a scene, there's a problem. children who have no discipline in their lives are not being properly prepared to live in the real world. a world where they are not number one and where they are required to answer to an authority who doesn't care what they want or how they feel. i am not advocating controlling children, i am just promoting the setting of boundaries and the dedication to follow through with promised consequences. adults must make rules and be willing to take the time and energy necessary to enforce them. set an example for them by submitting gracefully to those in authority over you. show them that everyone answers to someone. okay, this is kinda heavy and i have so much more to say on the topic, but it's probably best to stop now. i wanna give kudos to dana c. and shirley a., though. thanks for being such great examples of loving your children to the point of tears...