John Wesley urged breaking a child’s will before the child could speak or walk

Evidence

Break their wills betimes; begin this great work before they can run alone, before they can speak plain, or perhaps speak at all. Whatever pain it costs, conquer their stubbornness; break the will, if you would not damn the child. — , The Rod and the Child, 3204

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels and slightly extends Susanna Wesley’s ‘year old, and some before’ timing — a striking intergenerational continuity in the same family’s doctrine. — connects to: Wesleyan doctrine grounded corporal punishment in the belief that self-will damns a child’s soul — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 3195

Related

• Wesleyan doctrine grounded corporal punishment in the belief that self-will damns a child’s soul (similarity 0.82)