Now I'm not saying this is the right way to handle things but back in the "good ol' days", growing up in a fairly scrappy neighborhood, affronts such as this were often settled by a punch in the nose, even if it meant a bloody nose and/or black eye in return. Regardless the outcome, respect was likely to be gained not to mention new found friends. To bring parents into the fray was taboo unless the situation escalated totally out of control. There was nothing more humiliating for a kid than to have his mom or dad calling or going to "Johnny's" house to admonish him because he was picking on their kid. Peers settling differences between peers was the way it was done, and 9 times out of 10 it all worked out and all was forgotten.
Then again, we had penny candy, soda fountains, bubble gum cards, etc., and I'm really not THAT old...
Times certainly haved changed.
Bill
Bill,
Those were the best times, and the best ways. I always tried to stay out of situations with my children. My grandmother used to say that 'adults should not entertain children's quarrels, because the children will make up, but the parents will not'. I don't remember ever running home about anything.
Unfortunately, many parents are much too involved and controlling these days, and do not do that. (Just think of all those news stories about parents punching coaches, etc.) You can imagine, therefore, how hurt I was, when I was staying out of stupid quarrels and tried to build character in my children by having them swallow insults or deal with it themselves, *but* other parents were not...so my kids were the ones that often got in trouble...the mantra that 'no good deed goes unpunished' was so true for me as a Christian parent in an unchristian world.
On the other hand, as far as adolescents and teens are concerned, ofcourse one needs to have some handle on what is going on with them (on the computer and with their friends) because these are definitely not the good old days. One can never be too careful or secure.
In Christ,
Alice, who is happy that her children are now officially grown up!
