I refer to last Sunday's article, 'To cane or not to cane...'.

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While I fully agree that we, as parents, must seek alternatives besides using the rod. At times, to not spoil one's child, 'right parenting skills' have to include caning when all else fails.

In my humble opinion, pampering of our children can be taken too far. I attended a parents' briefing for my son's forthcoming school camp recently, & could not believe some of the questions asked, issues raised & demands made by some of the adults.

I was under the impression that other parents, like my wife & me, would be pleased to see our child rough it out for 3 days & 2 nights learning to be independent. Instead, parents made all manner of unreasonable demands on the school & the organisers of the camp at Lim Chu Kang. Certain parents demanded that the toilets be kept dry & clean at all times, instructors & parent volunteers patrol round the clock in & around the dormitories, mattresses free of dirt/dust must be provided for the children, all double decker beds be replaced by single deck ones for safety purposes even though there are railguards on the upper deck, mosquitoes & stray dogs not be permitted to enter the camp compound, all gates (including the main entrance) must be padlocked 24 hrs a day, meals be piping hot, water sports & obstacle courses be banned etc. One parent also claimed that he heard from 'reliable sources' that the camp site is haunted, & demanded that the instructors 'do something about it'!

Strangely, the 2 parents who demanded that instructors & parent volunteers patrol the camp's fenced in premises round the clock, declined to carry out the task, when the presenter suggested that they can come forward to assist at the forthcoming camp. Some parents also insisted that their children be allowed to carry their mobile phones along with them to camp, even though an emergency hotline number was given by the instructor. He reasoned that this camp is meant to teach the students to be independence, so having a mobile with them at all times to communicate with their parents would be counter productive. The instructor also mentioned that parents kept calling the hotline incessantly during previous camps, just to ask if their children were okay, & many insisted that the instructors look for their kids among the 400 or so campers, to come to the office for frivolous reasons.

I believe that most of our children these days are too spoilt & pampered.

Sorry for the typo. Should be "He reasoned that this camp is meant to teach the students to be independent........." in the 4th paragraph.

I strongly recommend this book to all parents, especially those who are still using the cane to discipline their children... After reading the book, I hate myself for not being able to understand my kids' needs earlier.

er...

I think that it is acceptable for parents to cane their children if their true intention is to educate them. And judging from the many spoilt brats we see in public, maybe caning is really neccessary in some cases.

however, there are some black sheeps around, who cane their children just to vent their frustration. i am against these parents, whose caning are definitely not justified.

If schools and homes do not nurture our kids from age 6 on gratsitude practice, we will continue to churn out spoilt brats from both rich and poor families alike.

For newcomers, please google 'Glad Game' and "Pollyanna".

Eagle2004

my kids are looking forward to rough it out in the mud with their buddies !

laymanbrothers

{my kids are looking forward to rough it out in the mud with their buddies !}

So is my son!

If you are the camp instructor, how will you be able to meet some of these parents' demands?

(1) Can the toilets be kept dry & clean at all times while 400 children are using them?
(2) Is it fair to expect instructors & parent volunteers to patrol round the clock in & around the dormitories?
(3) Can mattresses be completely free of dirt/dust?
(4) Is there enough space in the camp for all double decker beds be replaced by single deck ones?
(5) How can the camp ensure that mosquitoes & stray dogs be prevented from entering the camp compound?
(6) If all water sports & obstacle courses are banned, the children won't be exposed to activities they don't get to participate in at school.
(7) If the camp site is really haunted, are the instructors expected to chase away the 'ghosts'?

These overly protective parents may not realise it, but they are pampering their children to the extent that they are spoiling them. How will the kids ever learn to take on life's challenges when they are adults? How can the boys ever be equipped to handle teh rigours of National Service?

The instruction should reply to the parents :

1) yes. I have 400 children who will be cleaning and drying the toilet.
2) yes. but YOU have to be a volunteer.
3) yes. we will buy new ones, please pay an extra $$ for this to happen. remember.. it's for your child!
4) yes. however, instead of 1 child to 1 bed, now it will be 2 children per bed.
5) yes. to both. When YOU become a volunteer, I will give you this task.
6) no problem. Just pay the fees, and keep your child at home. We'll make it a virtual camp.
7) no problem. when YOU become a volunteer, frankly, nothing becomes a problem as I think you are very capable. Even ghosts will be scared of you.

Just give a naughty kid a good spank. It has proven to work. Even MM Lee recommends it.