Kingdom Hall Spankings

by JH 100 Replies latest jw friends

  • avengers
    avengers
    Maybe some here done the same thing, by spanking their children at the KH and now regret it.

    This is where I learned to spank my kids. As a child I was never spanked. It was the JW way that taught me.
    When one of my boys would get rowdy I would get "looks" from the front-rows looking back at me; actually
    saying: "Do something about it." Which I did as a good Witness.

    Now I regret it with all my heart and it hurts me to deep down. I owe apologies to all my kids whomever I abused
    in the name of Jehovah.

    Can't turn back time.

    Andy

  • bull01lay
    bull01lay

    My tuppence worth on this one....

    Depending on the age of a child, I think 'spanking' is a necessary form of punishment, and can be done constructively. As long as the child is of an age where they can reason, and truly are doing something naughty, not merely being children.

    I've used it as a deterrent with my daughter - she knows the '3 strikes and you're out' rule. The last time I ended up spanking her, we had a chat about it first. I left her in no doubt the reason why she was going to get a smack, and that I didn't want to do it, but her behaviour led me to do it. We both cried, and she had 1 short, sharp, smack on her bottom. I've never had to smack her again, and IMO, it was because I took the time to reason with her, so that she understood why I felt it necessary. Now, I rarely have to tell her more than once if she needs correcting. She knows the boundaries, and is happy to keep within them. Her mother, on the other hand, tells her multiple times not to do something, then flies off the handle in a rage, smacking her several times. To me this is not discipline, it's abuse. It's actually the main reason we seperated, because I couldn't stand to be there and let it happen. Needless to say, as soon as my child is old enough, I want her to live with me. It's getting close to where the courts will listen to her opinion soon, and I hope that she votes with her feet!!

    I got disciplined with the wooden spoon, mainly because it hurt my mom's hand because of how hard she used to smack me. And yes, like most of the people on here, it was simply because I couldn't sit, bored out of my skull, for 2 hours or more at a time.

    I also think that many of the problems we have in our society with teenagers, is because of a lack of discipline, or smacking, if you prefer. There are too many 'do gooders' without children that have made normal, caring parents, into monsters, just because they discipline their child. Soon it will make them into criminals, as is already the case in Scotland, I believe. Lets face it, people who are maladjusted are still going to abuse kids, whether the law permits it or not. You don't need a law to tell you not to abuse children, for the most part it's an inbuilt moral stance that the majority have. Perverts, abusers and masochists will still be perverts, abusers and masochists, law or no law. Period!

    Bull!

  • Corvin
    Corvin

    Yes, yes, yes, I abhore, loath, hate that damn spanking thing JW parents do to their kids when they do not sit quietly for the weekly brainwashing siminar. I was disciplined that way, and I can still hear the screams of other little toddlers echoing from the Kingdom Hall bathrooms. Regretfully, when I grew up and became a JW parent, I sometimes did the same thing to my oldest daughter at the meetings and when I think back on it it makes me sick to my stomach.

    She and I talked about the KH spanking thing recently and I apologized to her. She was very cool about it.

    Corvin

  • new light
    new light
    Violence begets only more violence. Teaching children that it's ok to use violence to address your problems contributes to the pervasiveness of violence in our world. Using violence to compel robotic behavior (e.g., infants sitting still through two hours or more of age-inappropriate drivel due to threat of beatings) will most likely lead to future regrets, as it did for my parents.

    Thank you, 144000+1. This was exactly what I was thinking. Well said. The fact that it takes so much physical abuse to coerce children to sit through meetings should send up a red flag. JW meetings and field service run contrary to nature, for children and adults alike. At least Christian churches accomodate the high energy and short attention span of young kids by providing Sunday school or something similar. Does anyone here remember how long a 2-hour meeting seemed at 4 years old?

    BTW, my mother was not one to drag us to the back often. Her main weapon was pinching us hard with her long fingernails. Honestly, I would rather have been spanked. Nothing against my mom BTW, I just thought I'd share for the fun of it.

  • L_A_Big_Dawg
    L_A_Big_Dawg

    When my son was a toddler, I was already on the verge of leaving the Borg. When he began to get fussy, I would take him out of the Hell, and what with him till he calmed down. I always got looks of smiling approval from the "older ones". Little did they know, LOL.

    When my daughter was born, I went with the ex to the assemblies and conventions to help her out. I loved it. One time my daughter, who takes after me, personality wise, began to throw a fit over something her brother did. I took her out of the Stadium, and walked with her in my arms, talking to her calmly and soothingly to get her to calm down

    Now, for those of you that are familiar with Dodger Stadium, I am outside the stadium itself, about 50 ft. from the entrance to the orange level. When here comes this self-righteous attendant, telling me to "Calm your child down, she is disturbing the brothers that came for a spiritual feast. Why don't you paddle her?" To which, I looked at him and said, "You know, I'm not here for the crap you preach. I'm here to help my wife that believes the crap you preach. Why don't you mind your own business before I paddle you?!!!!" He then sniffed, turned on his heel and left. Needless to say I was followed the rest of the day.

    I told the ex about this during lunch, and she walked up to that attendant, asked for his supervisor, and reported him. She also told a number of elders that she knew in the Cong. that she attended, that knew her, my dad, and me. At the end of the day that attendant was offering apologies to the ex, my toddler daughter, and me to no end.

    Sometimes, having connections are a good thing.

    LABD

  • TD
    TD

    Spankings were encouraged in no uncertain terms in the WT:

    Here's one example:

    One of the many reasons I'm proud of my wife is that even though she is a JW she doesn't believe in spanking children.

  • Lehaa
    Lehaa
    I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I was spanked when I was little, not understanding why I had to sit still. And even though I've had to readjust my attitude and be careful as to the reasons why I had to spank my own kids, I'm glad my parents spanked me.

    I was smacked when a child too. I'm fine about it, my parents were good with it and never beat us of went too far. They also told us why we had been smacked too, which i think was good.

    I have two small children and i smack them when they are really naughty, and only if I've exhausted all other means of discipline. ( they know the warning signs as to when they are going to get smacked) I too like my parents explain too them why they have been smacked too. I never discipline them though when i feel i'm about to loose it. I give myself a time out, 10 minutes in my room does me the world of good.

    I have memories of children being beaten at the meetings, how it a 2 year old suposed to sit for 2 hours, impossible. I found it hard to do and i chose to be there.

    When i take my kids to the meeting, which is rarely, i take heaps of stuff for them to do and once they've had enough i take them home. I've definately had enough bu then aswell.

    Oh yea, i just discovered a new way to discipline kids. I squirt my cats with a water bottle when they do something they know they're not allowed to do. My daughter was being naughty with them, they were all trying to get our bird. I squirted all three of them and they all stopped and ran away. Think I'll be carrying around a water bottle more often now. LOL.

  • TRUTH SEEKER
    TRUTH SEEKER

    I remember quite clearly getting spanked in the womens bathroom at the hall. My mom would always get us to the hall late so we would sit up front. We were always getting in trouble for not sitting still and my brothers and I would giggle or some other kid-like thing and then get hauled into the back to "get it".

    I remeber watching an Elder and his son, he was like 3, running after the meeting and his dad grabbed him under the arm pit as he was trying to run by. I remember his father spanking him so hard that he actually flipped up and almost flipped over his dad.

    I asked my Mom why Jw's don't have Sunday school for the kids and her lame answer was that in Jesus' day the children sat and listened in the Synagogs. When I started to bring my son to the meeting he was 2 1/2. He didn't know how to whisper and he didn't think he had to. It makes me laugh now but at the time I was so embarrassed. I wouldn' spank him and I was "talked to" by the Elders.

    The best time I remember was when this guy was studying and he brought his 4 year old son to the meeting- Theocrapic school I think, and the kid walked up on stage and the dad wouldn't go get him. I rolled!

  • talesin
    talesin

    The PO in our Kingdumb Hell said from the platform "and when you take them out to the bathroom we want to HEAR them!"

    Oh yeah, we got BEATEN. You could always hear the screams from the bathroom. May he rot in hell. : )

    And as 144,000 said, it is wrong to teach a child to hit, violence begets violence. I have friends who have teenagers now, who have never been hit. Not once. The eldest is 17, and the twins 14. ALL GOOD KIDS. To anyone who says it is necessary, I call "bull$h*t"! It's the lazy way out. Call me a bitch for saying it, I don't care. I will speak for the children.

  • gumby
    gumby

    I remember brother Greenlees giving brother Chitty spankings in the bethel bathrooms and brother Chitty never cried nary a tear.

    Gumby

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