i think they believed that a child frightened into heaven, as though the devil were snapping at his heels, is better than the destruction of the alternatives.

Ah, I suppose that might be true in the final analysis... and I hope that insight at least allows you to have some compassion for your folks...

I look back with sorrow at the mistakes I made raising my own children... I have tried very hard to encourage young parents not to abandon firmness, but to always accompany it with profuse expressions of love.