I must preface this by saying not all conservatives approach child rearing in the way described here. Nor does this describe the more mainstream conservatives. There are so many factors that go into how a parent raises his/her children. For instance, there are social and cultural factors, how that parent was raised, whether the parent is under stress, whether there’s a support system available… It goes on and on. Nevertheless, when you start getting into the extreme right wing ideology (such as white supremacy) political ideology does begin to have an influence on parenting styles. At least, this was my experience. There is also an extreme right wing Christian movement which is not identical to extreme right wing ideology, but certainly has connections to it. One of the more well-known movements is Quiverfull. Many survivors of the Quiverfull movement have posted blogs about their experiences and have written books. One of the more prominent blogs can be found here:
This movement believes that birth-control is inherently sinful, and that parents should seek to give birth to as many children as possible. They view their children as “quivers” in a man’s bag of arrows, and the children are raised to be “weapons” to be used against liberals in the culture wars. The children are often homeschooled to “protect” them from secular influences and liberal ideas they may encounter in public schools. College, especially for girls, is generally discouraged.
Child rearing techniques in this movement are typically brutal, with an emphasis on child obedience and corporal punishment. For example, The Pearl Technique encourages parents to have their 9-month old child sit on a blanket. A tempting toy or treat is placed outside of the blanket, and if the child goes for the item, the parent whips the child. “First time obedience” is also emphasized; a child who does not cheerfully obey the first time is whipped. That’s right, if the kid doesn’t obey with a big smile the first time, hit ’em. Michael and Debi Pearl’s book, “To Train Up A Child” has been found in the homes of many parents who have killed their kids in the name of godly discipline. More information on this can be found below:
Extremists Discipline Teachings Connected Child Abuse and Deaths
Of course, extreme right wing ideology does not always mean religious extremist. While most right wingers will identify as Christian or religious, they may tend to emphasize racial and economic issues more than the religious ones. Often, they subscribe to conspiracy theories that posit that they will be rounded up into FEMA camps by the Liberal government for extermination. Schools are said to be a tool for “brainwashing” their children into becoming Liberal, and this is part of the plot. Parents are told to fear their children learning to promote government actions that will lead to their extermination. Oh, and the Muslims are in on it. They are increasingly advocating for homeschooling children in this part of the movement as well.
FEMA Camps Conspiracy Theory
If You Want a Conservative Child
Take Your Children Out Of School
Now we move onto child discipline in the extreme right wing. I’m not referring to the religious extremists (which we already discussed), but remember, they are very similar and overlap. I grew up listening to right wing radio, and the radio hosts would often talk about the good old days when parents were allowed to beat their kids. Child Protective Services was on a witchhunt to persecute conservative and religious parents. Now, they say they’re against child abuse, but they’re not. Michael savage famously advocated verbally abusing autistic children in order to cure them of their autism. Hell, he advocated verbal abuse for all kids. “Autism — everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, “Don’t behave like a fool.” The worst thing he said — “Don’t behave like a fool. Don’t be anybody’s dummy. Don’t sound like an idiot. Don’t act like a girl. Don’t cry.” That’s what I was raised with. That’s what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You’re turning your son into a girl, and you’re turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That’s why we have the politicians we have.” The link is below:
In addition, many conservative think pieces scare parents and try to convince them that spanking their kids is the only way to save society. The article below is a think piece about why children should be spanked, with some time dedicated to blaming lack of spankings on people protesting Trump, of course.
Parents No Longer Teaching Respect
What this leads to is paranoid parents terrified of their children thinking differently from them. Because they often believe that any alternative viewpoints are life threatening (remember FEMA camps), they will often resort to brutality in order to control their children completely. Their justification is that they sincerely believe they are saving their children and their country. When you add the “God told me to do this” with bible quotes, you get a very toxic mix. The liberal indoctrination they fear so much becomes conservative indoctrination and abuse in the home.
The White Veiled Daughter 