by little witch 34 Replies latest jw experiences
Does anyone remember the advice from from the stage, encouraging mothers to remove babies from the room when they were hungry?
How about, wooden spoons to beat toddlers into submission, preferably in front of the congegation, as to set an example in disipline?
Was this just in our hall, or was it from the borg? I appreciate your comments, and reflections.
I never saw or heard such things at my hall. Sounds horrible. There was one sort of funny incident that happened though involving a child and discipline.
A young girl of about 5 was misbehaving. Her dad couldn't get her to sit still and so he took her hand and marched her towards the back of the hall. She must have figured she was going to get it bad so she grabbed onto the chairs in the back row. She screamed save me Jehovah and the entire row of chairs fell over as dad kept pulling her arm.
Everyone laughed including dad and he just shook his head and picked her up to carry her outside. She wasn't beaten and in a couple of minutes came back in and sat quietly but she was smiling and making faces at everyone.
I worked with a JW woman about 12 years ago. She was about 50 and related a story to me about her 18 month old granddaughter. She knew of my JW background and must have figured that I would respond with a standing ovation.
We were discussing the discipline of children. This woman somewhat proudly described the following:
At a meeting the little girl grew restless and refused to sit still. Her father, this woman's son, kept putting her back in her chair and admonished her to sit still. She kept climbing down. So, the Dad grabbed the little girl and hauled her to the back room and began to spank her, hard. My coworker began to describe to me the loud crying that started to fill the hall. Then, when he was finished hitting her, she related how the cries became plaintive and sad.
Now, while she's relating this to me, she is working and not really looking directly at me. When she is done, she looks at me and sees the stunned look on my face. I responded with "I can't believe your son BEAT his little 18 MONTH OLD child for not being able to sit still at one of those BORING meetings. I CAN'T believe that everyone listened to it and did nothing! This is your grandchild! YOU have three kids yourself, DON "T you know that kids that age have EXTREMELY short attention spans? She doesn't know or CARE that it is some silly meeting. It's child abuse, plain and simple!
I remember the shocked look on HER face and for one second I think I broke through the spell. Then, of course, the mask quickly returned. She said nothing and never brought up the subject again.
Andee
Thanks, beautiful, thats the sorta thing I remember too. I wish someone would have stood up
and said "hands off her, you animal''!
I got this treatment, and so did my nephews, cousins, and other babies and children.
Thanks LB, that pretty much says it all.... God help the children.....and by the way, nice tattoo! I just got mine recently, and I like it much! Also, you are very handsome, like the hat! LOL
I've not only heard of this going on in alot of halls, but experienced it myself. I also remember one District Convention ages ago in Illinois when a woman was in one of the bathroom stalls literally beating her child half to death. This poor childs screams were heard by everyone outside the bathroom, and the screams sent chills down my spine. Several woman were knocking on the stall door telling the woman to open the door and to calm down, etc. The lady just ignored them, and just kept hitting this little boy. I happened to walk into the bathroom at that time, and the woman finally came out, and this poor little boy's face I'll never forget. He was sobbing so hard, trying desperately to catch his breath, I started to cry myself. He couldn't have been more than three years old. There were men/Elders? who walked into the bathroom and took her and the little boy, where I don't know. But I bet she got an ear full. I'll never forget that poor child.
LB-I've heard that story of the little girl lots of times. My mother used to carry a wooden spoon in her bookbag, which she brought to all the meetings. If you so much as flinch wrong, she'd grab that spoon and whack you wherever it happened to land, right during the meeting. Then, when you started to cry, she'd take you outside and whack you some more to "shut you up"! Man, these memories are depressing me. Argh!
I had to edit the initials for LB! I first put it as NP! LOL
Edited by - Lin on 11 September 2002 14:17:41
i am thankfull i never saw anything like that..these stories are of horrible people....though i remember a few good smacks from my nonjw mom's hand...i'm pretty sure i deserved them though..mom is still the coolest...
Little Witch:
I can't say that I've ever seen a child being disapplained at a kingdumb hall; this doesn't say much because, thank God, I can count on the fingers of 1 hand the number of times I've been to a JW church. My wife, however, was a JW, and she was beaten for not sitting still. In fact, her father beat her bloody, beat her so severely that she still couldn't sit in school the next day. Her teacher told the principal whom then got children's services envolved. When questioned, her parent's lied, of course, and said that Bobsgirl had only fallen down the stairs and was lying to get attention. Nothing ever came of the children's services inquirey, and her mother continued to reinforse the lie during Bobsgirl's childhood. All for being a kid and squerming during a long and mind-numbingly boring even for an adault, weekly religious meeting. JW parents suck! Untruthfuly, abusive JW parents only suck more.
Edited by - aluminutty on 11 September 2002 15:32:16
Thank God that I never was witness to anything such as I have read! Our KH never taught that from the podium. YIKES..........
I was smaked for any reason you can think of: not raising my hand enough, taking too long in the bathroom, getting up too much to go to the bathroom, etc
I remember the wooden spoon in my mom's purse when we were out in field service and during the meetings too. I remember the pinches under my arm that left brusies cause it was on the inside of my arm where the skin is very thin and if I jumped or said ouch too loud I was taken outside for the "real thing" and then got it again when I got home for making them miss part of the meeting.
Ok, enough memories.
Cripes........I am going to rethink the parenting skills of my parents! They weren't that bad at all! I don't ever remember getting punished at a meeting......NEVER.
