Michael Pearl

Nope. NopenopenopenopenopeNOPENOPENOPENOPE.

As of this date, at least three children have died as a direct result of the batshittery that is promoted in this book. The fact that libraries still have this book, and Amazon (and other vendors) are still selling this book (yes, I just checked Amazon) is a big shame in itself.

This book is so fucked up that I can't even joke about it. The author fucking advocates WHIPPING infants that are only a few months old. Whipping is also encouraged for every show more transgression, big and small. Also, according to the author, if you don't whip your child, you're creating a Nazi.

You're also supposed to whop babies when they're not able to sleep. Or whip them for crying. But wouldn't whipping an infant cause them to cry, and if you're supposed to whip them when they cry...

The author's wife also abuses children she babysits, including hitting a toddler so hard that it caused the kid to wheeze. Also, you should also totally abuse a kid until they're totally broken (yes, the authors use that phrase) Kids should also be hit if they cry for their mother.

You should also whip kids until they stop crying/screaming, and hurting infants who bite their mother's nipples (during breastfeeding. Instead of just, y'know, pulling the infant away for a bit) as well as tripping toddlers so that they fall into deep water. If an infant bumps their head or a kid skins their knee, ignore it.

The real shit-cherry on top of the shit-sundae though? If your child is being bullied, you're supposed to REJOICE. Also, it's ok to withhold food from a child.

Yet, Amazon and other retailers and libraries still have this book and make it AVAILABLE. (Again, at least three children have died from this. Others have been taken into custody by CPS, and adults involved in treating children this way have been arrested or faced charges)

The Pearls suggest using your size to beat and press a child into submission.

"if you have to sit on him to spank him, then do not hesitate. And hold him there until he is surrendered. Prove that you are bigger, tougher. Defeat him totally.”

I'd love to see the Pearls themselves being beat by a gang of people bigger/stronger than they are until they're whimpering in submission.

This shit is fucking batshit insane and the Pearls are terrible, awful people who are far more in need of an ass-beating than any kid.

I've also noticed that all the 5-star reviews of this book I've read come from people who claim to be Christian and praise this book as "sensible" or "common sense" or other nonsense drivel that should NEVER be used to describe child abuse.

Funny how so many Christians seem to forget that Jesus preached kindness, not child abuse.

The Pearls also are okay with molested children remaining in the same home as their abusers. And before any supporter of these batshit nutters claim that I am making things up, here is a link directly from the Pearls' ministry website...

https://nogreaterjoy.org/articles/abusive-husband/?topic_slug=marriage-articles

In it, the Pearls claim that if the husband shows repentance (too many abusers cry crocodile tears and continue abusing) then the children should be kept in the house with him, and that the wife should not divorce him. Even if the husband is sent to jail for his actions, the wife should still stand by him.

Because apparently, the abuser is more important than the abused.

The Pearls have no place to speak or advise others when it comes to the welfare of children. Period. They're evil, sick, diseased people who should never have had children, nor should they ever be allowed around any children at all. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. show less

Pretty pictures do not change the fact that the author is a deeply disturbed man who condones child abuse in the name of religion. (not to mention that this book itself is heavily biased in favor of a cruel and unjust god)

Michael Pearl defends every terrible thing Jehovah/God does, and I'm not kidding. Children literally die at his hands because Mommy and Daddy pissed him off and... what the ever loving fuck??? But then. Michael Pearl and his wife think it's ok to hit babies so I shouldn't show more be surprised that they claim that Jehovah shows his love to human beings by sending down horrible punishments for minor misdeeds, or for people expressing doubt in entirely reasonable circumstances.

Oh, and there's also the fact that Jehovah was also willing to allow his people to spend 400 years in Egypt as slaves, and he did absolutely fuck all when the Pharaoh decided to kill off all the Jewish baby boys. And then Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart to increase the challenge factor so that Moses had to keep coming back to him to plead to him to let the Jews go.

Yeah no, none of this is loving... hell, it has the hallmarks of an abusive relationship where people are expected to keep coming back to Jehovah and love him no matter what horrible things he does to humans.

Also, if you refuse to accept Jesus as your savior, Jehovah will throw you into the fiery pits of hell where you will burn forever.

It has been preached multiple times by various Christians that Jehovah wants us to exercise our free will... but what's the point of giving humans free will if there's only one right choice?

The Pearls also believe that the Earth is about 6,000 years old, and that Jehovah created the world in literally 6 days. So the time of Noah was about 2500 BCE, and his three sons then became the ancestors of the Europeans (Japheth) Africans (Ham) and Asians (Shem) This part of the book is also really fucked up because it "explains" how Africans became slaves to white men, and Jehovah is ok with this. WTF?

So then... where the fuck did the natives of the Americas and Australia come from? Not to mention all the evidence of various peoples across the continents being much older than 6000 years.

This book is such a clusterfuck from beginning to end for anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together. show less

No matter what kind of language Michael and Debi Pearl couch their "advice" in, child abuse is still child abuse, and it's creepy how often the Pearls compare children to animals. The Pearl's ultimate goal here is unquestioning obedience. They claim they're not interested in 'breaking' children, but then in the same breath, they will extoll the virtues of a obedient, unquestioning child.

In fact, this gem comes up early on in the text in reference to training - "future, instant, unquestioning show more obedience"

Ewww.

They also encourage hitting babies and toddlers to teach them to not reach for things when common sense dictates that you keep things out of reach. I mean, we're talking about fucking infants and toddlers here, folks.

The example of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit is used to reinforce this "lesson" but to me, that story has always been fucked up. The forbidden fruit is the fruit of KNOWLEDGE - Jehovah wanted Adam and Eve to be ignorant, and likewise, Michael and Debi want children to be ignorant and obedient.

Mind you, the forbiiden fruit in question was 'knowledge of good and evil' so apparently Jehovah didn't want his "children" to know the difference between good and evil - all he wanted was obedience. (And people wonder why I'm an atheist, but I digress...)

Joyous obedience is mentioned multiple times. It's just so creepy because I also hear about joyous obedience in the context of the subjection of a wife to her husband (but never the other way around. Hmm...)

The pearls add physical punishment to various aspects of child-rearing, and it is honestly distressing to see how easily they are willing to resort to slapping the child or hitting them with an object. When one of their children (at 5 months old) kept trying to climb up the stairs, they switched her bare legs rather than use a baby gate. JFC.

Pearl also insists that dogs are smarter than cats, but in personal experience, I find the opposite to be true, lol. (From the way Michael writes about cats, I get the sense that he dislikes cats, and he compares training children to training dogs, so it makes sense to me that the Pearls would prefer dogs!)

Mr. Pearl also insists that ordinary children's behavior (kids not trained in the Pearl way) is terrorism, he compares kids to the Mafia or union bosses. Jeez, the Pearls really don't want ANY independent thought from children, do they???)

It's also creepy how Michael defends the flaws in Bible logic, like Jehovah creating people to be inherently sinful. Just stay the fuck away from this book, seriously. The Pearls are some of the LAST people I'd ever listen to when it comes to child-rearing advice, because it's clear all they want out of children are obedient automatons, but then, they love their religion so much, and Jehovah wants obedient automatons too, so eh. show less

Michael Pearl is a fucking sociopath. I have to say it. He believes in whipping/switching INFANTS as evinced in his "child-rearing" book, To Train Up a Child, and in this book, he shows that his views on marriage is just as fucked up.

He is absolutely abominable to his wife on their honeymoon. Mikey was one of these dudes who saved his virginity for marriage... which in itself is not a bad concept. His body, his choice, after all. But when he finally got married, he basically took his married show more status to mean he could do whatever the fuck he wanted with his wife, which included forcing himself on her when she was trying to sleep. He also shows appalling inconsiderateness towards her in regards to other needs, like not letting her find her shoes because he just had to go outside crabbing NOW NOW NOW. He also wakes her up multiple times because he's hungry or horny. Not once does he consider her needs.

When she was having a problem with the crabs, he just lay in bed and criticized her instead of getting off his lazy, sexist ass to help. One of the comments he makes after sharing this awful story about his honeymoon (Debi finally unloaded on him about how tired and sore she was, and Michael STILL laughed it off. Stupid ass!) was that it took him about two years to get his wife conditioned to tolerate his selfishness.

Not 'It took me two years to stop being so selfish, and learn to be more considerate to my wife' Michael was in his late 60s or early 70s when he published this hot garbage, and he certainly has not gained any wisdom. He's still sexist and misogynistic, still thinks it's ok to abuse children and trample all over your wife (or other women)

And this dude thinks he's in any position to write a book on about being a good husband??? Fuck you, Michael. show less