The saying is very old school. I don’t believe in the rod, but discipline is part of raising a well balanced child. The remark was mocking parents who use no discipline at all, afraid the child may get mad at them. We’ve over-praised them making them think they are above everyone, therefore their antics are o k. Its also rough on them to learn reality the hard way that its not. Parent vs friend.
My generation typically got the rod, which may have been over-used, which caused resentment to never use the rod (discipline) at all. So we were tainted by too much rod of the 1940s-50s concept.
We allowed them to play games internet 24/7, with no responsibilities at home.
I’ve got newbies coming into our craft who have zero work ethics. Asking them to do something is like asking them to jump off a cliff, despite they will never get a blue collar job that chokes them with so much money as a first or second job. Told to be so smart that they think everything they do and say is right, you’re wrong about everything, you’re stupid.
Our fault is not finding a balance between discipline and friend.
My wife (rip) was a friend too much, getting my son to walk 50ft to put a bag of garbage in a can was war.
My common remark when seeing the younger do something unacceptable is “well, who raised them?”. Its not always their fault they were raised to be that way.
Rod is just a saying for discipline, teaching manners and respect for others.
In our day, walking into a bar talking like that got a visit to a dentist. <shrug>