"I've Got an Angry Husband Who Is Taking It Out on a Five-Year-Old"

A caller named Paige from Dallas tells Dr. John Delony that her husband spanks their kids—and she doesn't like it. But as the conversation unfolds, the real problem isn't about spanking as a parenting philosophy. It's about a five-year-old who can enrage a grown man to the point of hitting, and a wife whose body goes into shutdown when she sees it happen.

The Real Problem Isn't Spanking

Paige starts by framing the issue as a disagreement about discipline: she wants to redirect their children, while her husband defaults to spanking for even minor infractions. She's home with the kids all day, managing them without physical punishment. Then her husband comes home from work, and "something tiny goes on and he's like, okay, it just goes out to the wind."

Dr. Delony immediately redirects the conversation. The real issue isn't a philosophical debate about corporal punishment. It's that Paige's husband is an angry man taking his frustration out on a five-year-old and a three-year-old. "He allows a five year old to enrage him to the point of hitting," Delony says. "That tells me he's not okay. If a five year old can emotionally dysregulate an adult, you're not okay."