​Weary Mom Alarmed by Surge in Disobedience After De-funding Father's Discipline

​An exasperated and confused local mother, who just two months ago moved to eliminate her husband's discipline of the children, sounded the alarm during a Wednesday family meeting about a surge in disobedience seen in her children.

This mother, pressed her husband about the uptick in disobedience that included stealing cookies, disrespect, fighting, swearing and playing violent video games.

"One of my neighbors finally had the courage to ask me, 'why isn't your husband disciplining your children?'" said this confused mother, noting that other neighbor's appeals for her husband to do something have gone unanswered. "This is the only option to curb our children's misbehavior. Discipline. They rely on my husband's willingness to discipline our kids. And they are saying his instruction and rebuke is nowhere to be seen."

When asked whether she feels her choice to undermine her husband's authority in front of the children, as well as her later efforts to eliminate his discipline altogether, have anything to do with the recent uptick in her children's misbehavior the confused mother said, "It's really hard to tell. I mean correlation is not the same as causation. My children just weren't happy with their father's approach to discipline. They said it was unfair and discriminatory. They demanded that I put a stop to it, which I did. But there's really no explanation that I can think of as to why our kids are now moving to more extreme measures of disobedience and rebellion and we all need my husband to answer for this uptick in insubordination."

When asked to share his thoughts, the woman's husband said, "I want my wife, my children, and my neighbors to know that I am here and I care." he said. "It's becasue I love my kids that I discipline them. I have a biblical mandate to train up my children in the way they should go. But it's also important for my wife to understand that her words and her actions have consequences. When my children see her undermining my authority, as I'm attempting to restore peace and order in our home, they are naturally going to see an opportunity to ignore my efforts and do whatever they want. Just as she is asking for my support in restoring order and helping to correct bad behavior, I also need her support as well."

As this confused couple struggles to find answers and a way forward, their children continue to do whatever they want; as their grandparents and neighbors continue to hope that the recent turn of events isn't an indication of what the future holds.