LogFAQs > #973992595

He wanted to clean up the toy box before they left our house and they wanted to play.

Instead of encouraging them by example, he raised his voice and smacked one of them with threats of more.

Not even a spanking - he simply swatted him on the arm.

I remember being disciplined by my stepfather and he proved to me than fear and pain is never a good idea to instill in children (the oldest is barely 2).

My stepfather made up excuses to spank me, made lewd comments about Onan during my puberty years, gave me "the talk" while on the toilet with his pants down and even tried to coerce me into the shower with him.

Granted, my uncle is no where near as bad, but he's a white-collar man who thinks that hitting your kids is acceptable due to the "spare the rod" line in the Bible.

I bit my tongue and the kids seemed to be okay after crying it out. But apparently my opinions on such things hardly matters when my family never really gives me the emotional support I need as a person.

I never again want to fear and love anything at the same time. It's a cruel emotion that is used by zealots trying to control you and I also don't want my cousins to resent me for who am I when they get older.