Parents teach children discipline for two different, indeed diametrically opposed, reasons: to render the child submissive to them and to make him independent of them. Only a self-disciplined person can be obedient; and only such a person can be autonomous.

Thomas Szasz
About This Quote

Discipline and submission are two very different things. Discipline is the ability to respond to authority and the ability to follow rules and guidelines. However, there is something else parents want from their children: independence. Parents want their children to be free from them, but they also want them to be dependable.

As such, parents will discipline their child to make him into an independent person who does not need them as much as other people do. That can be a very tricky thing for parents, as it often leads to resentment and resentment often leads to anger and anger often leads to violence.

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