Anyone that ever grew up in the church in the 50's - 70's know all about "blanket training" of infants and small children Parents were supposed to force their child to lay on a small piece of fabric on the living room floor for 2 hours straight without making a noise or crying. If the child cried thy were to be spanked and put back on the blanket. This was to be repeated endlessly till the child could fully complete 2 solid hours of quiet time.
If a child cried in services or made loud noises they were to be taken to the restroom and beaten till they stopped.
Growing up in the Cincinnati church in the early 60's, under Carn Catherwood, the child abuse that went on then was appalling. Spokesman Club sold paddles that were one inch think with holes drilled in them to cut down wind resistance. I remember vividly when I was 5 or 6 watching one father take his child out to be spanked and the child saying loudly so that all could hear, "Daddy, please no! No Daddy, don't spank me!" Other kids cowered in silence as they watched him walk down the aisle with the frightened boy. Catherwood used to tell parents that he wanted to hear the paddle hitting their kids and to hear them cry when spanked. He wanted to hear them cry as he preached. 20 swats, no matter what.That "blanket training" is still church doctrine in the more aberrant COG's, particularly the Philadelphia Church of God.
Dennis Leap is back laying down the law when it comes to children and church. He has 4 major rules that must not be broken, otherwise the child may not make it into the kingdom due to the fact that they have become rebellious cigarette smoking, drug addicted fornicators that end up in heavy metal bands playing songs dedicated to Satan.
Dennis Leap writes: Teach Your Child Self Control:
Rule 1: Blanket training
Teaching a child to sit and play quietly or sleep on a blanket during Sabbath services has been a tradition in God’s Church for decades. This training not only stops noisy interruptions during services, it is also a foundational plank for building self-discipline in children.
Failing to apply this blanket training makes the teaching of self-discipline more difficult as children mature. Not blanket training shows a lack of love and respect for the brethren attending services with you and your family. God’s people need to attend services in undisturbed surroundings where they can hear God’s messages without regular interruption. Granted, there will be times when a disruption is unavoidable. Yet it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure noisy interruptions by their children are infrequent and dealt with immediately.
Practice each day by spreading a blanket on the floor and having your child sit on it quietly for about an hour. My wife always did her Bible study at the same time. Be sure to sit next to the child. When your child attempts to move off the blanket or makes noise, tell him “No!” once. Move the child back onto the blanket or give him a hand signal (forefinger against the lips) to be quiet. When your child moves off the blanket or makes noise a second time, discipline him or her. Continue the process until your child accepts the fact that he or she must remain on the blanket and be quiet. This is self-control in action.In the next rule from Leap he discusses that children must be taught to come when called. Men re to use their wives as an example. Wives are to come when called so that the children will come like Mommy.
In the church there was a far more sinister reason for this, one that I heard repeatedly growing up "You need to learn to come the moment I call you r name, because it may be the time we need to flee and you will get left behind if you do not come immediately " What could be more sickening that to tell a child that!
Rule 2: Teach your child to come when called (just like your wife does)
Start teaching your child to come to you when he is walking securely on his own. If you have done blanket training, you’ll know that your child understands you.
My wife and I generally waited until our children were about 18 months before we began “come here” training. We set aside an evening to do this. We called them “come here nights.” I’ll be honest—this is a tough one.
Once children are up and running on their own, they do not appreciate being interrupted from what they are doing. To command them to come to you requires them to give up what they want to do and do what you want them to do. Children want to be their own authority. To submit to your authority requires self-discipline.
There is great advantage in teaching this skill at an early age. Your children will find it difficult to submit to God’s authority if they do not learn to submit to yours. Their physical and spiritual safety depends on obedience to direct commands.The same fearful shit is being pounded into kids!
On “come here nights,” I told my child to come here. I allowed my daughters a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there was no action, to make sure she understood, I would ask either my wife or an older sister to come here, and she would do so, to demonstrate. Then I would repeat the command to the one I was working with. If I did not get the appropriate response, I disciplined her. I repeated the process until I received an immediate response. Depending on the child, some “come here nights” were short events—others were not. Be prepared to invest considerable time if necessary.After you beat your child, it is important that they appreciate the spanking.
Rule 3. Teach your child to respond positively to correction
When you discipline your child, make sure he responds with a good attitude and right behavior. Make it your goal to not finish a correction session until your child demonstrates a good attitude, repentance and right behavior. This requires love, patience, strong teaching and time—a lot of time—on your part. It will be worth all your effort. As Paul says, there will be great rewards when you meet this goal. Your child will be happier and on the road to real success. Remember, positive response to correction will help your child forever.Next in is important to make you children work or do activities, especially memorizing the bible.
Rule 4. Encourage your child to take on activities that build self-discipline
Memorizing scripture is also a valuable self-discipline builder.Then to instill more fear into parents an children, he ends his article with he following comment:
This year we traveled to the Feast on an airplane, with a Church family with small children—and there was peace and tranquility! I was actually able to study and reflect on the most important Feast days of the year. What a pleasure it was to be in the company of well-trained children.God forbid if your child ever has to sit next to Leap on a plane. If he or she does I hope it screams for the entire flight!
