Last Updated on April 21, 2025 by Matt Staff
Parenting has come a long way. Once upon a time, kids rode in the back of pickup trucks without seatbelts, got soap in their mouths for talking back, and were told to stop crying or they’d “really have something to cry about.” These old-school tactics may have been handed down through generations, but today, many of them would raise more than a few eyebrows, or even result in a visit from child services.
While some of these methods were rooted in good intentions or simply “the way things were,” they haven’t all aged well. As society has evolved, so has our understanding of childhood development, emotional intelligence, and basic safety. What was once considered tough love or good discipline is now viewed as outdated, inappropriate, or even harmful. Here are 20 old-school parenting tactics that wouldn’t fly today.
1. Spanking with a belt
Physical punishment was once seen as effective discipline, but it’s now widely recognized as harmful and linked to long-term emotional trauma.
2. Washing a child’s mouth out with soap
What was once a go-to punishment is now considered abusive and unsanitary, not to mention dangerous if swallowed. Who remembers the taste of dial?
3. “Because I said no” as the only explanation
Modern parenting emphasizes communication and understanding, not shutting down questions or curiosity. Back in the day, if you questioned your parents, it wasn’t a smart decision.
4. Sending kids to bed without dinner
Withholding food is now considered neglectful and counterproductive, especially when it ties discipline to basic needs.
5. Public shaming for bad behavior
Damaging children’s self-esteem used to be seen as character building, but we’ve come to see that it’s more damaging than it corrects behavior.
6. Making a child stand in a corner for hours
“Go stand in a corner” seems like a joke, but it wasn’t. From the ’40s to the ’90s, parents would sentence their kids to a couple of hours in the corner of the room. We now notice this doesn’t teach kids how to regulate their emotions.
7. Forcing a child to smoke a pack of cigarettes after being caught smoking
This dangerous tactic was meant to “scare them straight,” but today it’s seen as irresponsible and harmful parenting.
8. Using fear-based threats (“I’ll send you to military school”)
Threats may get short-term obedience, but they can also create anxiety and damage trust.
9. Letting kids roam freely without supervision for hours
As much as free-range childhoods were amazing, in today’s day, unsupervised wandering is extremely dangerous.
10. Locking a child in a closet or dark room for misbehaving
Timeouts have thankfully become much less intense, because this tactic that was once used to “break” bad behavior is now seen as a form of psychological abuse.
11. Using chores as a form of punishment, not learning
We’ve recently learned as a society that chores are meant to teach responsibility, not meant to be weaponized as discipline.
12. Forcing kids to finish every bite on their plate
This outdated tactic ignores hunger cues and can lead to disordered eating habits down the line. We realized it’s better to save the leftovers and just eat them at another time.
13. Yelling as the main form of discipline
Constant yelling may control behavior in the short term, but it creates fear rather than understanding. Today, we want our children to learn and grow rather than just fear their parents.
14. Using physical labor as punishment
“Go dig a hole.” was a saying every parent weaponized in the ’50s and ’60s. Kids would be sentenced to the backyard to dig a hole big enough that they could stand in to teach them a lesson. Today, we realized that turning physical labour into punishment can create negative associations with exercise.
15. Threatening to “leave them behind” if they didn’t behave in public
Fear-based control like this can be traumatic for children, and it often backfires, causing temper tantrums.
16. Smoking around kids in enclosed spaces
Incredibly, we didn’t know about secondhand smoke until more recent years. Secondhand smoke is now recognized as dangerous, especially to developing lungs.
17. Not allowing boys to play with dolls or girls with trucks
Gendered play restrictions are now outdated as we embrace diverse interests.
18. Bribing with candy or money for good behavior
While it may work short term, it creates a reward-dependent mindset and lacks real motivation.
19. Using the silent treatment as discipline
Shunning kids was a powerful tactic parents had used for ages, but withholding love or attention teaches fear and insecurity, not healthy boundaries.
20. Disregarding the child’s input in family decisions
Kids used to have no voice in the household. When big family decisions were made, kids never got a vote. Today, we aim for inclusion and respect.
