The Tantrum
佚名 / Anonymous
My mother was a vocal supporter of corporal punishment， but for all her talking she had never spanked my siblings， and me only once. Instead she found ways of punishment that left a more lasting memory than the short sting of a swat on our rumps. One of the most memorable of these occasions occurred when I was four.
In the early 70s’my mother attended college during the day while my sister was in school and I was in daycare. One day at daycare I watched an extremely tired mother attempt to pick up her daughter. The little girl asked， “Momma， are we going to McDonalds for dinner？” The mother replied， “Honey， not tonight. Momma has to run a few errands and then we have to go home and cook dinner for Daddy.” “But I want to go.” “Susie， I said not tonight. Maybe， if you are a good girl we can go tomorrow.” Susie immediately dropped to the floor， kicking and screaming， “I want to go to McDonalds.”
No amount of pleading or scolding her mother tried stopped Susie’s tantrum. Finally her mother gave in， “Okay， Susie， let’s go to McDonalds.” Susie stopped yelling and smiling， she grabbed her mother’s hand and they left. To say I was amazed would be inaccurate； I was delighted that anything I wanted could be had by throwing a tantrum.
That day my mother picked me up early from daycare because we were going to Sears & Roebuck to pay on a Christmas Layaway. I was excited by the lights and decorations， and as we walked through the toy section on the way to the Layaway Department， I saw a toy I had to have. It was a white and red telephone whose bells rang as it was pulled along on a string. Looking lovingly up at my mother I asked， “Mama， can I have that telephone？”
She replied， “Baby， not now， but if you are a good girl maybe Santa will bring it to you.” “But Mama， I want that telephone right now.” Her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened on mine. “Becky， you can’t have that telephone today， but if you misbehave you can have a spanking.”