Children

[PolarRaven]

Many years ago my wife and I used to foster children.
We did this for many years.

At one point we had several boys (3) and 1 girl.
And here starts the story.

One day the little girl comes to my wife and I and tells us about the boys having done something against the rules of our household.
It was not any major infraction, but we felt we should deal with the little girls concerns.
We called the boys in and lined them up.  We told the boys what the little girl had disclosed to us and asked them if it was true.
Each boy, in turn, lowered their head and admitted that yes, the story told by the little girl was indeed true.
The little girl, off to the side, stood there with a big smile on her face.
Being a "small crime", we told the boys that they would be grounded for a couple of days and their weekly allowances (cash) would be reduced due to their transgression. 
Though sad, the boys took this quite well.
The little girl though, seemed to think this was not sufficient and quickly piped up and said "That's all???"
I looked at the little girl and asked her what she felt was appropriate, should I maybe break their arm or something?
She stopped to think about it for a moment or two, giving it some very serious thought, and then decided that no, maybe that would be a little too much for the minor offense that the boys had been involved in. 

So there we were, with all the boys having received their punishment and everyone satisfied with the results of the gathering.
This accomplished, we sent the kids off to their rooms to get ready for bed since it was almost bed-time and they had school the next day.
As the smallest of the boys turned to go to his room, he shyly said "What about her???  She was there too..."

Moral of the story:  Just because one is willing to step forward and tell on the rest does not mean that they are any less guilty...  :)

[Zakky]

Too soft on children I say. Physical punishments are more straightforward and effective.

[PolarRaven]

Teehee. So you would be the broken arm sort of punisher I assume.

As I said, they were foster children and that sort of thing is frowned upon.   ;)

[Zakky]

Teehee. So you would be the broken arm sort of punisher I assume.

As I said, they were foster children and that sort of thing is frowned upon.   ;)

Grounding children are too cruel! My parents never grounded me and I would not ground my children either. Better to get it over with quickly with some good old fashion bamboo stick beating on your palms and move on.

[Wimpie]

Teehee. So you would be the broken arm sort of punisher I assume.

As I said, they were foster children and that sort of thing is frowned upon.   ;)

Wait, you can break arms if they're not foster children?  :o :o :P

[PolarRaven]

I used to hate having to ground the kids.
And you are right. It was cruel and unjust punishment.
I suffered terribly...
No matter who or how many of the kids were grounded, I was stuck there enforcing the grounding.
There were times when I was grounded more than any of the kids.  They took turns being grounded.
One would finish being grounded and the next one was grounded, adding to MY time.   :'(  :-\   ::)