The
Osmonds
by
Paul H. Dunn
paperback
edition, page 185
I receive letters from girls who feel that maybe
their fathers don't love them because they don't discipline them.
'It must be neat to have someone discipline you' they say. It
seems that a lot of kids want their parents to love them but the
parents don't know how to show that love. They think that they're
showing their love by giving the kids what they want.
I've
never got all I wanted just for asking-none of us have. When we
wanted something, we would ask our parents and they would say yes
or no, and that was that. And I certainly never felt unloved if
they refused. Of course, any time I got a spanking I didn't feel
very good about it at the time, but the feeling soon wore off,
whereas the feeling of being loved was always there. I see now
that taking the trouble to discipline me was one way my parents
showed their love for me. I'm very glad they did it.