while i was reading this my 10 month old started to scream. i knew he was just after my attention so, remembering the pearls' teachings, i went to him, picked him up, and i CUDDLED him into submission! he quickly stopped squealing, so clearly he knew i meant business. perhaps i will write a book about my method of child training. it also involves kissing a child who has a bumped head or scraped knee, singing to a child who is crying and refusing to go to sleep, playing with and / or talking to a child who is crying just for attention and frequent hugs just to show them who is in charge.
seriously, these people should be punished for what they are doing and advising others to do to children. i read some of what they had to say about breastfeeding and the sad thing is, some of what they said made sense - like how we have lost our instincts when it comes to knowing what to do - but then they go and say you should pull a nursing infant's hair for biting down on the breast (i don't care if they say 'gently' the baby would need to feel it for it to have any effect at all). when they mix their abusive nonsense in with stuff that actually seems to make sense, vulnerable new parents could be fooled into thinking they know what they are talking about.
it disturbs me how matter of factly they say they grab a 'switch'. i mean, what is a switch? something you would only have if you intend to hit your children with it. this is a completely different issue than smacking / spanking. this is planned, systematic abuse and it makes me feel sick.
and if their own children will not speak to them they clearly messed up their training.