So,.. are you a brat?

[ChildofChrist]

I was reading the AR online and found this article regarding DR. Ben Spock.

Found it interesting because according to my dear old mum, I was raised as a spock baby. However. I was discipined. You can share; Were you?

Here are the first two paragraphes.

Quote:

If you are older than 40 the name Benjamin Spock is more than familiar. It was Spock that told an entire generation of parents to take it easy, don’t discipline your children and allow them to express themselves. Discipline, he told us, would warp a child’s fragile ego. Millions followed this guru of child development and he remained unchallenged among child rearing professionals. However, before his death Dr. Spock made an amazing discovery: he was wrong. In fact, he said:

We have reared a generation of brats. Parents aren't firm enough with their children for fear of losing their love or incurring their resentment. This is a cruel deprivation that we professionals have imposed on mothers and fathers. Of course, we did it with the best of intentions. We didn't realize until it was too late how our know-it-all attitude was undermining the self assurance of parents.

[Nan]

I do not think my parents paid any credence to the Spock ideas . There was a stick cut from the apple tree, that was rarely used - a look in its direction was extremely effective - and rules were to be obeyed. I have a personal theory that as the eldest I probably had more rules than the youngest. No doubt echoed in my own family as the older ones would word the youngest up to ask for something they wanted, believing he was more likely to be successful!

[Nan]

All that is not to say that I was not a brat, of course!!!

[cricket]

Sure, I'll admit it. I'm a brat.

[Nan]

totally off topic.....Cricket I just saw your avatar - is "The answer is 42" the thought behind it? No I have not read the relevant books but it is still a sort of cult saying in our house.

[Amelia]

According to my sister, I've been a brat since the day I was born.

[cricket]

totally off topic.....Cricket I just saw your avatar - is "The answer is 42" the thought behind it? No I have not read the relevant books but it is still a sort of cult saying in our house.

Yes! Oh, Nan! I could just hug you! Thank you for "getting" it!

I am fascinated with the number 42. Here are some other reasons why:

• Messier object M42, a magnitude 5.0 diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion, also known as the Orion Nebula
• The number of generations (names) in the Gospel of Matthew's version of the Genealogy of Jesus.
• The number of months the Beast will hold dominion over the Earth (Revelation 13:5).
• The number (in the Babylonian Talmud, compiled 375 AD to 499 AD) of the "Forty-Two Lettered Name" ascribed to God.
• 42 is the number with which God creates the Universe in Kabalistic tradition.

[Nan]

I was not aware of all those things - obviously had heard of the 42 months. So do you think that whoever wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had at least some of these reasons in mind?

(By the bye, the question was What is 6 times 9 wasn't it? I have only heard this from my son )

[Nan]

PS -CoC, I am not trying to hijack this thread !!

[ChildofChrist]

No biggie. Her 42 is interesting.

[cricket]

Actually 42 is the Ultimate Answer, but the Ultimate Question was never determined. Earth, itself, was supposed to be the great computer that calculated the Ultimate Question.

Sorry to derail the thread, CofC. You're sweet to let us hash this one out!