What Exactly Is The JW View of Physical Discipline, Corporal Punishment?

by minimus 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  minimus

  I believe that since it is not politically correct to spank your child, the Watchtower doesn't push parents anymore in that direction.

  Years ago, elders would sit a parent down and tell them that they needed to discipline their kids and if needed, give them a spanking, since the Bible says, they won't die if you give them a beating.

  What is the Watchtower's view on this subject now?
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  yodastar

  Spare the rod, spoil the child. Hopefully it's changed because I got a lot of the rod.
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  BluesBrother

  They are more coy about saying it now and encourage reasonableness, without withholding the ultimate punishment

  WT 04 7/15 p27-31

  Imperfect people need discipline, and they need it from childhood onward. “The one holding back his rod is hating his son,” says the king of Israel, “but the one loving him is he that does look for him with discipline.”—Proverbs 13:24.
  A rod is a symbol of authority. At Proverbs 13:24, it refers to parental authority. In this context, employing the rod of discipline does not necessarily mean spanking a child. Rather, it represents the means of correction, whatever form it may take. In one case, a rebuke kindly given to a child may be sufficient to correct improper behavior. Another child may require a stronger reproof. “A rebuke works deeper in one having understanding than striking a stupid one a hundred times,” says Proverbs 17:10.
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  Marvin Shilmer

  Historical footage: Watchtower and the Woodshed
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  Village Idiot

  I don't know what their current stand on that subject is but many years ago it was a forthright "spare the rod spoil the child". I doubt they've changed.
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  truthseeker100

  My father beat the hell out of me, when I had children two girls I just could'nt bring myself to beat them. I punished them in other ways for bad behaviour like not giving them a bed time snack. They are both well adjusted women.
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  minimus

  I used to get the bejesus beat out of me and look how I turned out.😈
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  kaik

  JWs were known for physically abusing their kids into such extent even under communist rule that many cases ended in the courts, which was unusual, because physical punishment was and still is widespread in Eastern Europe. I my old KH, elder regularly beat up all his children, sometimes with fist, while his crazy wife was pinching them. Any case, his children moved out when they get old and want nothing to do with the old man.
  
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  cofty

  There is no excuse for hitting a child ever.

  JW's attitude to corporal punishment is disgusting.
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  maksutov

  I and my older brother were beaten (we are both in our 40's), but my younger brother was not (he's in his 30's). I think the attitude has softened considerably in the last 25 years, and it is now rarer for kids to be beaten by JW parents. I know my dad feels somewhat bad about it, as he once remarked that he wondered whether he was too harsh. He's still a faithful JW though.