The following is a letter published in the New York Times Magazine of April 22, 1945.
Parent and Child
To the Editor:
I wish to raise my voice in protest against the unbelievably naive attempts made to solve the so-called juvenile delinquency problem.
For those parents who are not lost beyond hope in “modern” theories I can only recommend the following system which works admirably in our large family, including both boys and girls in their tender years and in their teens:
Whenever one of the children deserves punishment the culprit is made to undress and is sent to bed, where he receives, over mother’s or dad’s lap, up to twenty-five sharp whacks with hairbrush or ping-pong paddle on his tightly pulled pyjama pants.
In more serious cases the spanking is administered on the bare skin. Results are gratifying and I assure you that the courts will not have to deal with our children as juvenile delinquents.
Agnes S. Donner,
New York.