Image courtesy of South Park
Turns out the episode in which Cesar Millan--aka the Dog Whisperer--is hired to “train” Cartman was on to something. According to the New York Times, a growing number of parents are finding great parenting advice from the trainer who specializes in getting bad dogs to be good.
Sound crazy? It’s not actually. In fact, a quick glimpse at Millan’s main points reads like the CliffsNotes to many parenting books.
Millan believes that exercise, discipline, and affection are the winning triumvirate when it comes to raising happy, healthy dogs. He believes dogs act uneasily when their owners show fear and insecurity, or fail to act like leaders. Millan’s solutions? Be consistent about discipline. Emanate “calm-assertive energy.” Offer structure and show your dog its place in the hierarchy of the home
As a person who was raised with a houseful of dogs (as many as 4 at one time), and the daughter of pretty strict parents (East Indians, thank you very much), this makes a lot of sense to me as parenting advice.
I was never “friends” with my parents growing up. I liked them, sure, and I thought they were funny and strange and infuriating at different points, but at no point did I believe that my opinion held equal weight to theirs in our home.
I realize this kind of parenting isn’t in vogue right now, and that people could level back that I could have gotten both at home—friendship and discipline. That might be true, but I have yet to see a parent who has really pulled both off equally. For me, it’s more important to do what I think is right for my son, LBZ, than it is for him to like me.I realize this is easier now, when he's a baby and can only really dislike me for a few minutes before his attention shifts (ball!), but I'm hoping with practice, I'll be ready for the real hurdle of his teen years.
Already, I’ve been applying some "Dog Whisperer" rules at home. Take sleep training. I read six books on different methods of training kids to sleep alone, and when he was 3 months old, I concocted a plan that involved letting LBZ cry for successively longer intervals, until he learned to soothe himself. Did I hate to hear him cry? Yes. Did I cry myself outside his door? Twice. But I didn't go back into the room with my insecurities, I dealt with them outside, and with my husband. I'm sure I'll hear from people telling me I've scarred him for life, but I wouldn’t know it from his 12 hours of sleeping through the night, or the way he claps when he sees us in the morning. (And yes, for the record, I know this will change as he grows. I’m just loving the moment we’re in).
What do you think? Were you raised in a Dog Whisperer household, or something more lenient? In terms of discipline, how have you raised your kids? Is it working for you? Are there ways in which you wish you would have done it differently?
