I read this snippet in yesterday’s Daily Dish about the Kiss rockstar’s take on parenting. I was floored. There are actually some celebrities who absolutely get it.
When a friend of mine said comically, “Beat your kids early and often,” I laughed because I agree.
I’m an extreme disciplinarian. I frown when I see kids running amok, kicking their parents. Then the parents smile, “Oh he’ll grow out of it.” Grow out of it, my ass. Those children need to be turned upside down and whacked on the behind—hard! Kids crave discipline. You don’t debate with your kids and try to come to an agreement. You lay out the law of the land. You are the parent.
Read below. I agree with everything he says. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Gene Simmons is adamant his children will never “go off the rails” because they wouldn’t dare to disobey his super-strict parenting rules.
The Kiss star has two kids, Nick, 21, and Sophie, 18, with his longtime partner Shannon Tweed and has brought them up to be extremely well-behaved.
Simmons admits he is a formidable force as a father, and prides himself on keeping his kids grounded.
He tells Britain’s Daily Record, “My kids are both wonderful human beings. Nicholas is 21, Sophie is 18, they are both straight-A students, charming, well behaved because they are not allowed not to be. It is as simple as that.
“They are not allowed to go off the rails. … The phrase ‘wait until your father gets home’ is good. Parents should never act like a friend to their children.
“I am not their friend, I am their parent and they are going to do as I say. There is no running to their room and slamming the door. That’s my room. That’s my door. Even the poop they poop out is the food I bought them. The air they breathe is my air. They’re allowed to rebel once I kick them out of the house and they earn their own living.”
i definitely agree with you that kids crave discipline, but i don’t agree with your definition. in its truest form, discipline means “to teach” not “to punish for disobedience.” i was just talking to a school administrator last week about how it takes a while for a message to sink in before it becomes a way of life. she pointed out that even adults have issues with learning lessons that come up in their lives. (amen to that!)
granted, my children are still quite young so the jury’s still out on my parenting hypotheses, but i don’t believe that children grow into the people they were destined to become if they are ruled with an iron fist. remember, it’s not fear but LOVE that conquers all.
just my two cents.
or should i say, it takes them a lot longer to grow into their truest selves, because they’ll spend so many years learning how to love themselves in a way they were not loved in childhood.
there is certainly a place for consequences for actions in daily life – i think it’s harmful to children when they are not taught these lessons – but the consequences ideally come from a place of compassion and awe for the beauty of evolution, not control.