Saying 13

Do not withhold discipline from a child;
    if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Punish them with the rod
    and save them from death.

Proverbs 23:13-14

These verses, by using the term “rod”, make unmistakable reference to corporal punishment in disciplining children. Consequently, this saying is a tough one for many today for several reasons. Society seems to have changed its attitudes about corporal punishment since I was a child. When I was young, my parents, as did most other parents, used corporal punishment when they felt it was necessary, as did the public schools I attended. Everyone understood that it shouldn’t be done to excess or extremes. Now, for better or for worse, many, possibly most, jurisdictions consider corporal punishment to be child abuse and will prosecute parents who use it.

I will let others debate this issue if they like, all I will say about it is that it seems ironic to me in light of some other things that are sometimes encouraged, that deal with raising child ren.

It seems to me that there is a principle here that is more important than the argument, and that is that parents need to take such reasonable steps as may be required to teach young people how to behave and operate in the world around us. To do so will save them many tears, and even an early death in extreme cases. To fall short will bring about serious social consequences, which are in the news reports every day, and even imprisonment or death.