Disciplined Comedy

I’m one parent who’s really looking forward to “The Bernie Mac Show” (“Spare the Rod, Spoil the Jokes,” by Greg Braxton, Nov. 4). Disciplining children may be controversial these days, but I can’t understand why parents are so afraid to use the belt.

As a child, I wished my parents would have just given me timeouts, but that wasn’t the case. I believe that one of the reasons I never got suspended from school or locked up when I was growing up was because my mom “whupped” my behind when I got out of line. Then came the ominous words: “Wait till your father gets home!” Peer pressure to follow the wrong crowd paled in comparison to the thought of my parents finding out about my rebellious escapades.

Today, as an adult with three young kids of my own, I’m the same way with them as my folks were with me. The Bible puts it best: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; [but] the rod of correction drives it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).

BRYAN BOWEN

Pasadena