The Naughty List, Keeping An Eye Peeled For Santa, 1861-1865

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Well we warned them. Children's books illustrated infractions that could get you noticed by Santa's all-seeing eye. Unclear if dog is threatening a stick-to-the-backside but 11 months of the year it's all parents had. December brought the best disciplinarian our world has known.

It's so funny! Every generation tends to bemoan ' kids today ', don't they? Like kids being kids is new. Worst ever disciplinarian ( ever ) on the planet here, mine are just fine adults. What a hard-*** I wasn't seems a popular topic at family dinners. That whole serpent's tooth thing applies. I'm not sure you can ruin children despite all cautionary tales otherwise.

Children keeping an eye peeled for Santa this time of year isn't new, either. Single time of year we have any leverage whatsoever as parents. Looking into what was considered awful enough for Santa's ubiquitous list, not-a lot has changed over 150 years. And what Santa had to say.

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As annoying 150 years ago as now, ' bad children ' were a ' thing ' although' there were no on-line tips for frazzled parents. Snark in the news must have been thought helpful. Bet it wasn't.

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Spoiled children were considered ' bad ', well, still can be. Love this because our tendency to treat them like little adults aroused criticism in 1861. Harper's took a shot the silliness. Not so much in 2018, we still do it.

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Then came Santa although it seems a little futile. Children reading newspapers has to have been a forlorn hope.

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Cannot count the moral tales, dire warnings and instructions on How To Be Good found in children's books.

In proof of the Santa theory all about how wise it was to toe that line, an Illinois newspaper tracked the down the jolly fellow. From 1862, quoting Santa Claus on the topic of ' bad children ' has to have been effective.

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We tried everything..... 1864
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Time out's were either threatened or discussed, hard to tell from the 1860 book once again patiently cautioning children of the unwisdom of flouting rules.


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Well, spanking may have been utilized before someone finally decided it wasn't a good idea to hit kids, nothing was as effective as that weapon at hand - December. And keeping an eye to the sky because Santa was watching.

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Sorry, really could not resist. Have always wondered what in blazes this little guy's story may have been. Could be entitled " Waiting For Santa ".
 
Removal of all discipline (study; training; education) is a sure way to ruin your child. Today's hands off attitude of child rearing leads to an adult adolescence.

What I find funny is many people are willing to listen to experts on the most effective ways of rearing/disciplining their dog and other pets(reward based training is far more effective than going heavy "alpha" on little Fido) but when it comes to children, those same people often refuse to listen to anything anyone else has to say. There's plenty of evidence that rewards based rearing is more effective than physical punishment. Timeouts and taking things away until behavior is corrected works better than spanking and other physical acts. AKA "consequences they will actually face when older."

I remember as a kid, after Halloween, I always tried my darnedest to be a good girl, just so I did not get on Santa's bad side. My parents were happy to remind me of what might happen if I wasn't, of course. "Go get ready for bed, or Santa won't come." "Eat your vegetables or Santa won't bring you presents" etc.

My rebellious stage came after I got older and realized Santa wasn't real and I'd probably be getting gifts anyway, that threat no longer worked on teenage Brooke..... same with many of my friends, funny how that works.
 
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Removal of all discipline (study; training; education) is a sure way to ruin your child. Today's hands off attitude of child rearing leads to an adult adolescence.


Oh heck, removal of all discipline and none of us would be here. Noticed kids tend to become incredibly self disciplined all by themselves, given support. Have to say we had little of what's known as discipline- never hit in my life, worst thing that could happen was being sent to one's room. Where all one's books were.... . Not an infraction anywhere as adults beyond speeding tickets. Rubbed off- had one rule, anything the little gnomes could come up with came under that heading. ' Be Nice '. All 4 did very well , 2 tend to drive themselves a little hard, seem happy.

Having said that, who knows if it was the right way to go about it? Hear the speeding ticket thing may have rubbed off, too, though.
 
Discipline was meant in my post NOT as punishment after the fact, but instructions to "train up a child as they should go and they will not depart from it".
Dentists, Doctors, Plumbers, Sailors, Bakers and Candle Stick makers all follow a discipline. Children need guidance and firstly need love.
 
Delighted, and look at the example Mr. Lincoln set with his little Tad, or must I point it out? Amazingly, there was so much real grief when the boy died.
…."glub"....
Lubliner.

Lincoln was a compassionate man. He loved his enemies and sought to return to the right path. He had loss in his life beginning with his first Love, and his second born. The Union of States was threatened a loss to him but he conducted the people of the nation to cling to the love of nationality and to restore and forgive.
 
Oh heck, removal of all discipline and none of us would be here. Noticed kids tend to become incredibly self disciplined all by themselves, given support. Have to say we had little of what's known as discipline- never hit in my life, worst thing that could happen was being sent to one's room. Where all one's books were.... . Not an infraction anywhere as adults beyond speeding tickets. Rubbed off- had one rule, anything the little gnomes could come up with came under that heading. ' Be Nice '. All 4 did very well , 2 tend to drive themselves a little hard, seem happy.

Having said that, who knows if it was the right way to go about it? Hear the speeding ticket thing may have rubbed off, too, though.

My mother has never been much of a disciplinarian, my father usually gave out what little physical punishment we got. Mom had a little trick up her sleeve though, the dreaded "Just you wait until your father gets home!" Half the time I don't even think she bothered telling him..... just that fear of the unknown was discipline enough.
 
My mother has never been much of a disciplinarian, my father usually gave out what little physical punishment we got. Mom had a little trick up her sleeve though, the dreaded "Just you wait until your father gets home!" Half the time I don't even think she bothered telling him..... just that fear of the unknown was discipline enough.


Too funny. My daughter says something along those lines although the likelihood of having to pull rank on a kid who was born at age 35 was nil. Really lucky gee whiz. Probably can't offer commentary on being a parent because two of mine required almost no discipline anyway. Not a thing to do with anything I was responsible for, they were just incredibly good.


Lincoln was a compassionate man. He loved his enemies and sought to return to the right path. He had loss in his life beginning with his first Love, and his second born. The Union of States was threatened a loss to him but he conducted the people of the nation to cling to the love of nationality and to restore and forgive.


Ever read what a big softy he was with those kids? What a peach. Wish I could remember who wrote of it- drove the White House staff crazy. Tad spilled ink on a marble topped table ( never can figure out why spilling something is cause for discipline, anyway. It's a kid. They're messy. )and staff wanted him disciplined. Lincoln just wouldn't. Occurred to me maybe with a war going on, death and pain around every corner the children were his comfort. It's very nice reading.
 
"What a peach" @JPK Huson 1863. I like that! But look at the stuffiness of his Cabinet. Busily protecting heirlooms, of the U. S. with as much far within as without. Lincoln's heart was in the right place.
Morning Mam, Lubliner.
 
Too funny. My daughter says something along those lines although the likelihood of having to pull rank on a kid who was born at age 35 was nil. Really lucky gee whiz. Probably can't offer commentary on being a parent because two of mine required almost no discipline anyway. Not a thing to do with anything I was responsible for, they were just incredibly good.

My sisters, brother and I were good kids on our own too. Even good kids slip up sometimes. Conversely I've known some incredibly bad children who were just bad, not because of lack of discipline, some kids(and adults too) just simply never learn. Some of them grew out of it and ended up maturing quite nicely, others not so much.




Ever read what a big softy he was with those kids? What a peach. Wish I could remember who wrote of it- drove the White House staff crazy. Tad spilled ink on a marble topped table ( never can figure out why spilling something is cause for discipline, anyway. It's a kid. They're messy. )and staff wanted him disciplined. Lincoln just wouldn't. Occurred to me maybe with a war going on, death and pain around every corner the children were his comfort. It's very nice reading.

See, some parents go overboard, disciplining for any little bit of adversity involving their children. Accidents happen, children are messy and haven't fully developed motor skills, like hand eye coordination. Things are bound to be spilled, dropped, or otherwise damaged on accident. No need for discipline.
 
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