Growing up as a child was not an easy thing for me. Watching some of my friends being spoiled from their parents made me jealous, I always felt like my parents didn't love me as much thats why they didnt get me the things i desired. When i made wrong choices i had to learn the hard way, and it wasn't being sent to my room for a time out or just getting yelled at with them pointing a finger in my face. Whenever i did something wrong my parents made sure i recognized what i did incorrect and they would punish me to make sure that i don't do it again.
Fighting with my siblings, getting a phone call home from school, swearing, and stealing, are all reasons why i get punished. In my house hold we are Samoan and the Samoan word for spanking is "sasa". When i made a wrong choice i knew what was coming and i would be terrified, mostly from my dad. My dad would discipline us with whatever he could find, but mostly with his belt. My mom wasn't that brutal but she still beat us with a big wooden spoon and as a young kid that still hurts when your hand gets whacked hard with a big wooden spoon. When they did this it made me realize that i didnt want to have this feeling of pain again so i made sure that i didnt repeat what i did wrong.
As I talked to my friends about this i came to figure out that they too get beatings at home when they done something incorrect. We always discussed how much we hated getting beat by our parents. We came to found out that its a polynesian thing, because as we watched our other class mates that werent polynesian get in trouble they would only get yelled at but no physical contact.
Now that we are grown and in high school me and my friends have came to a point were we understand why we got disciplined that way and it may sound funny but I am happy that I got whacked with belts, hangers, sticks, and wooden spoons. This made me who I am today. I have grown to learn to have great respect for others, especially to those who are older than me. They taught me that i dont have to have everything that i want or that my friends have. They made sure that i didnt grow up to be a spoiled brat. Last of all, i honestly believe that through all these beatings it made me become tough and strong.
As other people read this they may think of it as child abuse. I strongly dont believe that what my parents did to me was abuse, I consider it as love. They showed there love to me by showing me that they care for me and my future by not wanting me to make poor mistakes or choices in my future. What i consider abuse is going beyond what my parents have done. They disciplined me when i made bad choices, if a parent beats their child for no reason then that is consider abuse to me because they dont know what they are getting beaten for. When parents hit their child non stop and keep whacking them with objects or their hands and feet that is also considered as child abuse to me because you have to know when to stop beating them. You have to give them a sense of feeling where they dont want to do it again, not the kind of feeling that makes them want to run away and always be afraid of you. Discipline your children the right way, don't abuse them!
