I’ve noticed a new trend in child discipline. Counting. I hear parents every day counting to their kids when they’re doing something wrong and it just makes no sense to me. Granted, I’m pretty new to all this so maybe someone can explain to me why counting to my child is supposed to keep them in line but I’m not seeing it.
As I watch and listen to parents counting to their child I can’t help but wonder if the child is going to grow up thinking that they have until the count of 10 to do what ever they want. Many times the parent will count to some number, the child will stop and then nothing happens. What really does the child take away from that? I mean, will they be at home later that week and think, “I can pull my sisters hair until mom gets to 9, if I stop then all is well”?
My sister does the same thing. She counts to 3 and if my niece doesn’t stop doing what she does then she gets a good old fashion spanking. It was just how we were brought up and honestly, it doesn’t make much sense to me either, but it lets the kid know that they have up to 3 or in your case 10 seconds to stop what they are doing or they are in big trouble.