My oldest son was very strong-willed. I remember thinking my job was literally to break his spirit. That whole idea just kind of devastates me now. Like, he ended up growing into an incredible young man despite me, but I still wonder what it may have been like if I had actually been a good dad in those days. And I’ve wondered where I ever got that idea from—that I was supposed to literally break his spirit. He’s not a f*ing horse. But I guess that was just all kind of in the waters we were swimming in, and somehow I thought that’s
I was raised Catholic and the nuns terrified us about the flames of hell. I still have the fear embedded in the background. I do meet up with some friends a couple of times a month at an Evangelical Church, that I am not a member of. Studies have shown that the punishment philosophy promoted by these religious and patriarchal institutions serve to harm children psychologically.
My oldest son was very strong-willed. I remember thinking my job was literally to break his spirit. That whole idea just kind of devastates me now. Like, he ended up growing into an incredible young man despite me, but I still wonder what it may have been like if I had actually been a good dad in those days. And I’ve wondered where I ever got that idea from—that I was supposed to literally break his spirit. He’s not a f*ing horse. But I guess that was just all kind of in the waters we were swimming in, and somehow I thought that’s
what being a good dad was.
I was raised Catholic and the nuns terrified us about the flames of hell. I still have the fear embedded in the background. I do meet up with some friends a couple of times a month at an Evangelical Church, that I am not a member of. Studies have shown that the punishment philosophy promoted by these religious and patriarchal institutions serve to harm children psychologically.