There was a study published in this paper over a week ago which said that 53 per cent of parents in the UAE support corporal punishment. I'm all for discipline and making sure that your little brats don't grow up into big brats, who will be infinitely more irritating, but I'm not sure how heartening it is that the majority of parents think that beating their child up is all right. We have all sorts of organisations and rights groups who hold demonstrations against things like animal abuse - understandably, of course. Hitting your puppy would probably be viewed as politically incorrect. It can't very well be a compliment to the human race, then, if we start thinking that while it's unacceptable to treat an animal inhumanely, it isn't a big deal to do that to your human offspring. The poll seems to have been answered mostly by parents, or at least adults. I daresay the results would have been rather less skewed if children and teenagers had participated too - finding out their opinion should probably be equally, if not more, important. We are, after all, on the receiving end of the smacks, and as with everything else, this ultimately comes back to us: the spankings, and the surveys, are carried out for the benefit of the younger generation. The point is, I very much doubt that the owners of the sore bottoms would agree with their parents that spanking keeps them on track and on their toes. That does sound a bit obvious, but I think teenagers, at least, have the maturity to decide what sort of disciplinary measures work on them and what don't. We were having a talk about this in class the other day, and many actually agreed that all the times they had been grounded had done them good. Not that any of us would openly admit this to our parents, but knowing what's likely to get us into trouble and what our limits are definitely helps us respect them. I also do know, for certain, that I absolutely hate being made to do something. I'm pretty sure that there is a built-in mechanism in our brains that gives teenagers an urge to do exactly the opposite of what they have been told to do. I seldom put food over homework, or anything else for that matter. The other day, Mum insisted that I take a break from homework and have a little something to eat. I personally think that homework is a waste of time, something that was invented by scheming adults to suck the youth out of their kids. I surprised myself, then, when I caught myself protesting to Mum to let me get on with my piles of maths worksheets because "they're really important" - more important than food. I don't know what triggered such highly unnatural behaviour, but increasingly, I find myself disagreeing with everything I am ordered to do just because I have been ordered to do it. I'm fairly positive that if Mum had yelled at me to not stir from my seat until all the homework was done, I would have started feeling peckish before long. Or maybe - and I've just realised this - she's using reverse psychology to make sure I don't stir from my seat until all the homework is done. Oh dear. I think I'm going to be a rebel and try doing exactly what Mum tells me to, and see what her reactions are. Talking to some other people, it seems that the best way to get anyone to do anything is to teach them how to make the right choices - not make the choices for them. A carrot and stick approach might bring temporary results, but the long term benefits are debatable. The greatest gift a parent could give a child is probably to be the ideal role model. Some parents with serious cases of road rage openly swear at other drivers when they're driving, and wonder why their son or daughter handles his or her car so rashly when they finally get their own wheels. Er, maybe because they've grown up seeing mummy and daddy do it? While a good many of us are of the opinion that nothing works quite as well as a sound spanking, I don't see why leading by example can't work just as well. It'll certainly save the tears and let's face it, which mother wouldn't be reduced to hysterics if someone else struck her darling son or daughter? Spare the rod and let your child grow into a more balanced teenagers who knows the difference between right and wrong, as opposed to a young adult who only doesn't wander astray for fear of facing mum or dad's wrath. The total control isn't going to last forever.