Roman hand-to-hand

[M. Demetrius]

What d'ya mean....no cattle prod?

Can't talk about things like that, so long as one of them still lives in the house...the Child Protection Praetorians would descend on the place like flies on, well, you know. And I'd be dragged off to be flayed by their examiners.

Maybe not quite that bad, but in the US, it's getting near impossible to discipline children without getting into a court case sponsored by the State. Somehow, these same people decry the descent into chaos and anarchy of the youth...but don't allow correction other than "reasoning with them". Try reasoning with a selfish kid as to why (s)he should share the toys and goodies. Useless, vain exercise in loquatics. Eventually, you just have to take the stuff away and redistribute it, which is to say, you have to become the Emperor. Sigh.

Once, though, I took my two daughters (who argued and scuffled continually, nearly) and put them out on the front porch and told them "Settle this outside and give the rest of us some peace." I wouldn't let them in until they were docile and more or less friendly. That worked for a few days respite.

Overall, though, things worked out fairly well eventually. Sorry to shift totally off topic.

*Click* back to Roman hand to hand training.